A lot can go wrong when practicing medicine, which is why medical professionals spend years and years learning to do their jobs. Even with so much training, doctors do make mistakes, and medical malpractice cases do occur, as a medical malpractice lawyer, knows. Some of the most common of these cases arise from surgery, with five allegations being the most common of those.
- A Botched Surgery
Whether the surgeon didn’t have enough experience or didn’t act in a professional manner while performing the procedure, some surgeries are botched. If the surgeon failed to uphold the proper standard of care in the midst of surgery, and it didn’t turn out as expected, you could have a case for medical malpractice. You might have a botched surgery if:
- You experienced internal bleeding
- You suffered an embolism
- You went into cardiac arrest
- You suffered a stroke
- Your organs, muscles, blood vessels or nerves were damaged
- The Failure To Avoid Infection
Surgeons have to be at the top of their game so as not to allow the patient to get an infection. There are plenty of measures to be taken to protect the patient, and when a surgeon fails to take those measures, it could be medical malpractice when the patient ends up infected. Some things that could cause infection include using dirty tools, not scrubbing up or performing the procedure in a non-sterile environment.
- A Lack of Consent to Surgery
Not every one of these situations are going to hold up in court, but some of them could. If a surgeon performed a surgery without your consent, did not fully explain the procedure before surgery or failed to inform you of side effects, it might be considered medical malpractice. If there was an emergency that occurred while the surgeon was performing a procedure, and he or she had to make a quick decision to save your life, it may not constitute malpractice.
- A Mistake of Blood Transfusions
There are three main reasons someone might sue for medical malpractice after receiving a blood transfusion:
- The situation was non-life-threatening and you did not consent to the transfusion.
- You received contaminated blood.
- You received the wrong blood type.
- An Error With a Biopsy
There are a couple situations that might end with a medical malpractice case after a biopsy error. First, the surgeon might not take a sufficient sample, leading to him or her not properly diagnosing a serious condition. Second, the biopsy could be confused with another patient, leading to the surgeon performing a surgery on the wrong individual. In either case, the surgeon has messed up and should be held accountable.
Contacting a Medical Malpractice Lawyer
As you can see, there are some serious risks that come with surgery. If you were injured or became ill because of a medical professional’s negligence, contact a medical malpractice attorney today.