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2 Common Surgical Mistakes Patients Should Know About

Mar 15, 2018 | Doctor Errors, Firm News

Many people in the Indianapolis area place their trust in surgeons and health care staff without realizing they are human too. Health care professionals are prone to mistakes, especially in the operating room. In the medical world, surgical mistakes are referred to as never events. According to Time.com, never events are medical errors that should never occur that often have catastrophic consequences for patients. 

There are ways patients can lower the chances of them becoming medical malpractice victims. One involves learning the types of surgical mistakes that are most likely to occur during their procedures. 

Wrong surgical site 

Operations that are performed in the wrong location on patients is a growing cause of concern in the medical community. Becker’s ASC Review states that across the country, at least 50 wrong-site surgical procedures happen every week. Common causes of surgical mix-ups include wrong patient information, a breakdown in communication between doctors and health care staff, improper marking of the correct surgical site and surgeon and nurse errors in judgment. 

Anesthesia errors 

Anesthesia errors are becoming more common. They often occur when doctors delay the administration of anesthesia, administer too little or too much, fail to recognize adverse reactions, do not properly monitor patients, use defective equipment and do not place patients in proper positions. 

There are several kinds of surgical errors that can occur. Their consequences range in severity. It is not uncommon for patients who experience never-events to develop respiratory distress, brain damage, amputation, organ loss, fall into comas and die. Surviving patients and their family members may qualify for compensation and can benefit from speaking with a medical malpractice attorney.

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