Protect Yourself from Common Surgical Errors

Medical errors, including common surgical mistakes, kill more than 250,000 every year in the United States alone and injure millions more. Of these deaths, every year, there are more than 4,000 preventable mistakes in surgery, which result in more than $1.3 billion in medical malpractice payouts.

Many of these common surgical mistakes are referred to as “never events” because they are the kind of surgical mistakes that should never happen. These “never events” include such mistakes as:

• Objects left in the patient’s body
• Anesthesia failures and miscalculations resulting in lack of oxygen, brain damage, or death
• Nerve damage
• Punctured organs
• Infection

Be on the Lookout for Signs of Problems After Your Surgery

After your surgery, there are things you can do to make sure that you don’t suffer from the effects or consequences of common surgical mistakes. First, look after yourself, and keep an eye out for symptoms that show that not all is well. These may include:

• Intense, sharp pain at or near the surgical site
• Fever
• Burning pain when urinating
• Vomiting
• Abdominal pain
• Redness, soreness, or swelling near surgical wounds and ports

You Can Take Steps After Your Surgery to Safeguard Your Rights

Some patients ignore symptoms and assume they are side effects of the surgery. To avoid serious complications from undetected errors, there are certain things you can do:

• Ask your surgeon what to expect after a procedure.
• If your symptoms fall outside of those expectations, seek immediate treatment.
• If you suspect a surgical error based on your symptoms, explore your legal rights.

If you believe you have been the victim of a surgical error, you can file a complaint with your state medical board or file a malpractice lawsuit. However, if you have suffered injury from a surgical error and believe you may be entitled to compensation, you should consult with an experienced attorney before filing a complaint with the state medical board, as the board’s power is limited primarily to reprimanding the doctor or taking action against the doctor’s license. A malpractice suit is your only way to recover damages.

Consult the Personal Injury Attorneys of Polito & Harrington

If you believe you are the victim of a surgical error, you should promptly seek treatment to correct those errors. To safeguard your rights to compensation for such errors, New London area residents should contact the personal injury attorneys of Polito & Harrington to determine whether you might be eligible for compensation. You can reach Polito & Harrington at (860) 447-3300.