When the issue of surgery comes up, patients often feel a bit overwhelmed, a bit uncertain, and sometimes downright scared. All types of surgery come with risk and there is always the potential that something will go wrong, or the surgery will not be a success. While patients worry about a great deal when faced with surgical procedures, one of the things that does not usually enter their minds is anesthesia or the anesthesiologist that will be overseeing their procedure.
Unfortunately, anesthesia errors make up one of the most common forms of medical malpractice claims in the United States. Patients are not often aware of just how important an issue anesthesia is, and just how much training is required to ensure it is administered in the proper way. The practice is extremely precise, and making just a small error in judgment or monitoring could lead to a serious complication or tragedy. While they do not happen in every situation, anesthesia errors do happen frequently and, regrettably, when they do, the results can be devastating.
If you or someone you know has suffered any type of injury because of an error involving anesthesia, it is important to understand that you do have legal rights, and you may be entitled to seek compensation for your injuries. Your first step should be to consult with a personal injury attorney who specializes in the area of medical malpractice and negligence to discuss your case, and your options. These legal professionals are extremely skilled in this area of the law, and will be your best line of defense for filing a claim.
There are a number of reasons that an anesthesia error can occur. The most common reason for such a mistake is because of negligence or general carelessness on the part of the medical professional. Examples of such errors include the following:
Administering anesthesia to patients who have an allergy to the medication given;
Providing too much anesthesia to the patient, causing them to overdose;
Not providing proper instructions to the patient before administering anesthesia, such as not drinking or eating before the procedure;
Failing to take into account other medications that have been administered and may interact with the anesthesia.
While, as previously stated, anesthesia errors are not uncommon; you may still think that they are not everyday occurrences. This is not the case at all. In fact, anesthesia errors are estimated to occur anywhere from fifty to one hundred times each day, all across the country. No matter what the excuse is for the error on the part of the anesthesiologist, the consequences can be extremely serious, and sometimes fatal. Some of the most common side effects of anesthesia errors include: heart attacks, strokes, damage to the brain or vital organs that cannot be repaired, the ability to feel pain during the surgical procedure, birth defects (when anesthesia is given during childbirth), and death.
As you can imagine, dealing with the fallout from such errors can be quite taxing for patients. If the patient survives the error, they can be faced with a long term recovery period, extra medical treatments, permanent disabilities, permanent side effects, and rehabilitation that is quite lengthy.
Because of these issues, patients are often saddled with large medical bills, an inability to continue working, mounting every day bills, and difficulty adapting to a new way of life. The physical and emotional stress can be overwhelming. On top of this, the financial burden can be crippling.
Taking the time to consult with a personal injury attorney and deciding to move forward with a lawsuit provides you with the chance to obtain compensation for past, present, and future medical bills, a loss of income, a loss of companionship, a loss of quality of life, pain and suffering, and more. In some cases, punitive damages are `lso awarded as a means of punishing the party responsible in the hopes of preventing further similar acts.
Anesthesia errors are now occurring at a rate that is quite alarming and the simple fact is they can be and should be prevented if proper care is administered. The laws surrounding medical malpractice claims are put into place to protect innocent patients so that these injuries are not allowed to continue to happen.
It is not advisable that you attempt to file a personal injury claim on your own without the assistance of a personal injury attorney who specializes in the area of medical malpractice and negligence. There is a great deal of detail that goes into these claims, as well as statutes of limitations that can vary from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. Filing too late or missing one small item can ruin your chances of a successful filing.
Personal injury attorneys know this area of the law extremely well and will handle your case with top notch care and professionalism. These legal representatives will deal directly with the legal teams that represent the hospital and doctors, while you spend your time focusing on your personal health and recovery.
In the event that you have lost a loved one because of an anesthesia error, you may be entitled to file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of the decedent. While a personal injury attorney cannot undo the harm that has already been done, or bring back a lost loved one, he or she can help you to receive compensation to help rebuild your life.
The majority of personal injury attorneys work on a contingency basis, which means you do not have to pay anything until the time your case settles. With everything else you are forced to deal with during this already difficult time, this can be a tremendous comfort.
There is no reason to risk being a victim twice, and there is definitely no reason to allow these types of acts to go unpunished. Doctors and anesthesiologists owe their patients a certain duty of care and when this breached legal action needs to be taken. Filing a claim not only helps to protect your interests, it also helps to protect other patients from being victimized in the future.