Medical malpractice comes in many forms in the United States. People sometimes may get injured after a surgery, but they don’t know the real reason for their suffering because the doctor decided to keep this terrifying surgical error a secret. Or, people may die in a hospital after being given the wrong amounts of medication during a surgical procedure, but close family members believe that the death happened as a result of natural causes because the medication error was never identified.
Here are several of the most common types of surgical errors that patients and their loved ones should watch out for:
Surgical souvenirs: This is a strange term that refers to the fact that some patients go home from surgery with an unexpected souvenir – like a sponge, surgical tool or surgical material – embedded in their bodies. These foreign objects might not have any health consequences, or they could require a follow-up surgery to resolve a serious problem.
Surgical mistakes: A lot can go wrong on the operating table, and one false move by a doctor or his or her assistants can be fatal or seriously injurious for the patient. Doctors can drop their instruments, perform surgeries on the wrong body part or organ and commit countless other errors while performing procedures on patients.
Anesthesia errors: The science that pertains to anesthesia has come a long way and injuries related to anesthesia mistakes are rare. Nevertheless, they can still happen with fatal results. They can cause a heart attack, stroke or other risky health complications.
Failure to follow standard medical procedure: Doctors must follow the accepted medical procedure that they learned in medical school while performing surgeries. If a surgeon’s divergence from standard medical procedure leads to inappropriate treatments, failed diagnoses, medication errors or different surgical mistakes, the doctor could be liable for the injuries and death that result.
If you suspect that your health problems – or your family member’s death – were the direct result of medical negligence, you may want to learn more about your right to pursue justice and restitution in Pennsylvania civil court. Depending on the facts and circumstances, it could be possible for injured persons or their family members to recover money to pay for medical care, end of life expenses, lost income, pain and suffering damages, legal fees, court costs and a wide variety of other expenses caused by the malpractice.