Anesthesia injuries, which can be catastrophic to patients, occur in hospitals as a result of things beyond a patient's control. Very often when a patient goes into a hospital, especially for an elective surgery, even for a non-elective emergency surgery, he or she will at least have a chance to meet with the surgeon, discuss options, and understand what is happening with regard to the surgery. But very often, patients never get to meet or talk to the anesthesiologist who is the most important person during any type of surgery. Anesthesiologists not only provide the pain relief so the patient can undergo the surgery, but have to be able to monitor the patient during surgery and make sure they wake up appropriately following the surgery.
We see a number of cases where patients have been injured during or following surgery as a result of improper anesthesia care from individuals who the patient has never met, never known, and knows nothing about. Very often we find that these individuals are either poorly trained, inadequately trained, or may not even be anesthesiologists. Many hospitals use certified register nurse anesthetists who may be capable in most circumstances, but not all circumstances, so there is a variety of different kinds of anesthesia problems that can have catastrophic outcomes for patients.
Anesthesia errors occur frequently during surgeries, however, most errors are corrected, so the patient rarely ever learns about them. It is only after a catastrophic event occurs, such as a serious injury discovered following surgery, or even death, that a patient or the patients' family becomes aware of the anesthesia error. Many patient's will seek multiple opinions from surgeon's, yet never think of the role an anesthesiologist plays during surgery and in the post operative recovery room. Many patients will have a successful surgery, yet encounter problems in the post anesthesia recovery room.
Anesthesia errors not only occur in hospitals but cosmetic clinics, walk-in medical centers, medical spas, and dental offices. Anesthesia malpractice is often linked to gastric bypass surgery, even cosmetic surgery.
If you or a loved one has suffered a serious injury due to an anesthesia error, you may have a medical malpractice or negligence claim. Anesthesia medical malpractice attorneys such as Dr. Bruce G. Fagel, can help a patient determine if he or she was the victim of medical negligence or medical malpractice.
