You entrust your surgeon, and other health care professionals, with your care during surgery. These individuals and organizations work hard to minimize errors and to respond to all complications that do occur. But, even with the best of intentions, mistakes can occur – especially when critical information is overlooked or when someone fails to respond to a complication as he or she should. Determining whether your injury or illnesses occurred by reason of proper surgical care or through the negligence of your health care providers is not always an easy determination of cause.
That distinction is important because Indiana malpractice cases depend on whether the care provided fell below the applicable professional standard and directly caused an injury. Surgical mistakes may involve preparation, anesthesia, operative decisions, communication failures, or postoperative care, and each situation requires a close review of the circumstances. People concerned that negligence contributed to a serious surgical injury can speak with Langer & Langer medical malpractice lawyers about the available legal options. A detailed review can help determine whether the evidence supports pursuing a claim under Indiana law.
Wrong-Site, Wrong-Patient, or Wrong-Procedure Surgery
Surgical errors can occur by a number of ways, such as operating on the wrong body part, performing the wrong procedure, or even on the wrong patient. Site marking and verification of patient identity, as well as obtaining of consent for surgery, prior to performing it, are some of the ways in which these kinds of errors can be prevented.
Evidence that supports a claim of Wrong-Site, Wrong-Patient, or Wrong-Procedure Surgery includes: (1) consent form(s); (2) scheduling records; (3) patient identification records; (4) pre-operative and peri-operative nursing records and communications; (5) operating room records and communications; and (6) written or oral statements from witnesses.
Inadequate Preoperative Planning
Physicians reviewing a patient’s medical history prior to surgery need to ensure that all relevant information and known risks have been considered. Failure to diagnose an undisclosed serious medical condition prior to surgery can lead to severe complications during or after the procedure.
Examples of failures in preoperative planning and preparation include going ahead with a surgery when the patient has an untreated infection, ignoring abnormalities shown in preoperative tests such as X-rays and blood tests, and failing to get referrals to specialists for a patient’s surgery that requires such.
Anesthesia and Medication Errors
Anesthesia errors can cause permanent nerve damage, fatal allergic reactions, and even awareness during part or all of the surgical procedure. Administering the wrong anesthesia, the wrong amount of anesthesia or even incurring an unknown patient allergy can cause great harm or even result in death. Vital signs need to be constantly monitored and recorded throughout the anesthesia administration process.
Further, medication errors are found outside of the operating room, and therefore can occur before and after a patient’s surgery. A claim for negligence can occur when a patient receives the wrong medication, a mix of medications are incorrectly given, or a patient needs further treatment after surgery and that treatment is not given.
Surgical Technique and Equipment Mistakes
Careless surgical technique also can result in serious and permanent harm to neighboring structures such as nerves, additional organs and vital blood vessels. Excessive bleeding or an unplanned tear can require subsequent surgeries to repair the damage.
Use of faulty equipment, failure to properly check for defects, or incorrect use can lead to serious injury or additional damage. Review of operative reports, inventory of equipment, photographs, follow-up studies and medical expert testimony are examples of evidence used to identify responsibility for damage caused by faulty surgical equipment.
Retained Surgical Objects
These are objects left in patients after surgery like sponges, clamps, needles, etc. They can cause infections, abscesses, pelvic inflammation, bowel obstructions and require a second surgery to remove them.
As part of the normal counting of supplies before and after a procedure, retained objects are typically discovered before the patient leaves the operating room. In such cases, the evidence of retained objects consists of pre- and post-operative counts of all instruments and supplies, such as sponges, which are typically counted before and after surgery.
Failure to Monitor and Respond After Surgery
A surgical error can occur after the operation if healthcare staff fail to identify or treat a developing complication. Warning signs include falling blood pressure, worsening pain, fever, confusion, breathing problems, abnormal bleeding, or abnormal lab results.
Delayed treatment can turn a manageable complication into sepsis, organ damage, or permanent disability. Nurses and physicians should document assessments, test results, notifications, and treatment decisions. A timeline can show whether staff recognized warning signs and responded within a reasonable period.
Inadequate Informed Consent
Patients have a right to be told the nature of the proposed treatment and any material information concerning the necessary procedure and alternatives to that procedure as well as the consequences of refusing that treatment.
These are the documents which will be used to demonstrate that the patient had not been informed of important information with respect to his/her surgery, had he/she been so informed the patient would have refused the proposed surgery.
Evidence That Can Support a Claim
Evidence that supports the claim for surgical error comes in the form of medical records which include the operative report, the patient’s hospital bill, their prescriptions, pictures and test results, etc. that relate to their treatment, as well as correspondence with the doctors and their staff.
A chart listing all of a patient’s symptoms and when they occurred can show how surgery led to subsequent treatment and be used to calculate lost wages and time spent in physical rehabilitation as well as establish the permanent disability that he or she has incurred as a result of surgical error.
Conclusion
A surgical error is significant and can occur when the health care provider’s error, delayed treatment or failure to inform patient of risks prior to surgery results in serious injury or additional health problems. A careful review of all of the medical records relating to patient’s planned surgery as well as his or her treatment after the surgery can reveal the extent of negligence of health care provider. A patient should obtain complete copy of all of his or her medical records from his or her physician(s) and hospital(s) where procedure took place and keep a log or chart of all of his or her symptoms and include date of when each symptom occurred as well as all treatment of injury and corresponding time frame. In addition, it is very important to keep all original copies of corresponding documents (including diagrams and photographs) in their original form and not to alter in any manner.
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries as a result of surgical error, malpractice claim can be filed in Indiana, but strict procedural rules and time limits must be adhered to and patient should consult with experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible to determine whether negligence occurred and to explore all of his or her legal options.
Written by Marc Cousineau (marc.cousineau@maintainxsolutions.com)
