Surgical Errors & Medical Negligence

Minnesota Medical Negligence Attorneys

Surgeries are a serious medical intervention. When patients undergo surgical procedures, they trust medical professionals to work carefully and follow all the proper precautions.

Unfortunately, in St. Paul and throughout Minnesota, there are patients each year who lose their lives or suffer harm as a result of surgical errors. If you or people you love have suffered from a preventable surgical error, it’s important to speak to Minnesota lawyers who are experienced in cases of medical negligence and malpractice.

Types of Surgical Errors

WSPEs

For surgeries and other invasive procedures, certain errors are referred to collectively as wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-patient errors (WSPEs). While they may be rare in hospital operating rooms, there’s evidence that they’re relatively more common in other settings, such as ambulatory surgical centers. The following are a few examples of WSPEs:

• A surgery performed on the wrong set of vertebrae, on the wrong part of the brain, or on the left kidney/lung/knee instead of the right kidney/lung/knee.
• Cardiac catheterization performed on the wrong patient.
• Surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome carried out on a patient who doesn’t have carpal tunnel syndrome but may have needed a different kind of hand or wrist procedure.

Retention of Foreign Objects

Another type of error involves surgeons leaving an object inside a patient. These objects include surgical sponges, needles, and tools.

Injuries Inflicted During (or Immediately Before or After) a Procedure

On a list of reportable surgical events, the Minnesota Hospital Association mentions death for a “normal, healthy patient.” It’s critical to investigate cause of death, especially for patients who were expected to survive and benefit from a procedure.

It’s also important to look closely at cases involving serious non-fatal complications. Along with errors that take place during a surgery, there are pre-operative and post-operative errors that may lead to a variety of harmful outcomes.

Sometimes, medical professionals inflict preventable harm during the course of surgery. If a surgeon accidentally injures a blood vessel or a nerve during a procedure, the question of malpractice might be raised and investigated.

Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia may be administered to the wrong part of the body, or the dose may be too large or too small. There’s evidence that overdose is the leading cause of anesthesia-related deaths in the US.

What Causes Surgical Errors?

Sometimes, a surgical error can be traced to one main cause. Other times, there are multiple contributing factors. The following are some of the possibilities:

• Poor communication among medical staff and between medical staff and patients.
• Lack of a clear mark on the surgical site.
• Failure to verify various facts, including the patient’s name, medical history, and correct surgical site.
• Failure to devise and apply a thorough system of checks to ensure that the surgical team is about to operate on the right person, for the right reasons, and on the correct location on the body.
• Insufficient monitoring of the patient during surgery.
• Failure to check for objects left inside the patient.
• Errors or lack of clarity in medical records, including use of the wrong x-rays or incomplete notes on a patient’s history.
• Inadequate assessments of a patient and review of a patient’s medical history prior to a surgery or another invasive procedure.
• Lack of training or necessary credentials for members of the surgical team or other employees working at a medical facility.
• Failure to make appropriate adjustments for patients based on weight, disability, pregnancy, or other characteristics that could influence surgical outcomes.
• Faulty or poorly maintained equipment.
• Time pressures that result in substandard care. For example, the medical staff may be overbooked and rushed not only during the operation but during pre-operative and post-operative procedures.
• Inattentiveness or distracted behavior among medical staff.
• Surgeons or other medical staff performing their duties while intoxicated.

Another piece of evidence that could factor into a surgical error case is the safety track record of a specific doctor or medical facility. The general management practices and level of hygiene and infection control in a facility are also important to note.

Consequences for Patients

Surgical mistakes can result in a variety of devastating consequences, including:

• Death.
• Paralysis or other forms of diminished mobility.
• Infections.
• Chronic pain.
• Scarring.
• The unnecessary loss of limbs or organs, or loss of functioning in limbs or organs.
• Trauma, chronic stress, and other psychological difficulties.

The short-term and long-term costs may prove staggering. Although the types of costs and their scope will vary from one case to another, the following are some examples of what patients or their loved ones may be facing:

Medical Expenses

After a surgical error, patients often require additional surgeries. Their health care costs may also include hospital stays, outpatient medical treatments, physical therapy, psychological counseling, and medications. If they suffer permanent damage from the error, they will need specific kinds of care for the rest of their lives.

Job Loss

Patients may wind up losing wages over missed days of work. The effects of the surgical mistake may also cost them their job or end their career. In some cases, they may lose the ability to hold down any job.

Lifestyle Changes

Patients may need to modify their home or vehicle and obtain assistive technologies to help them with daily tasks. They may need to make new arrangements for personal care and the care of their children. Their opportunities to meet people and enjoy various activities may shrink considerably, causing tremendous stress.

Bereavement

If your loved one has passed away as a result of a surgical mistake, you will need support in paying for medical bills and funeral expenses. Receiving certain damages for wrongful death can also help you and your family cope with the loss of your loved one’s companionship, care, and income.

Calling on Top Minnesota Lawyers

Building a case for medical negligence requires the services of trustworthy, highly skilled, and experienced attorneys. A poor outcome for a surgery isn’t sufficient evidence by itself.

Your lawyers will help you in a number of important ways:

• Making every effort to ensure that your case doesn’t fall outside of Minnesota’s statute of limitations.
• Using every piece of evidence, including medical records and witness testimony, to establish negligence as defined by Minnesota law.
• Helping you determine who shares responsibility for the surgical error and other aspects of substandard care.
• Helping you figure out what constitutes fair compensation.
• Providing you with compassionate and clear advice at every stage of your case, including recommendations of whether to settle or go to trial.

Don’t hesitate to contact us for a free consultation. We’ll respond quickly to your calls, and we can arrange to visit you at home or at the hospital.

You can depend on our personal attention and complete commitment to your case. With high-quality legal advocacy, you’ll increase the chances of receiving a favorable outcome.