Every year thousands of Americans are seriously injured or killed from surgical errors and surgery malpractice. Any surgical operation can be complex and involves risks to the patient. Surgery mistakes can lead to serious and permanent injuries to the patient, and sometimes even death. There is also a misconception that only serious surgical operations, including emergency room surgery leads to death. Most people do not realize that even common elective surgeries such as plastic surgery carry risks as well. Areas of elective surgery include cosmetic surgery and bariatric surgery.
Since all forms of surgery carry risks, even cosmetic surgery or bariatric surgery can result in catastrophic injuries or death for the patient. Examples of cosmetic surgery include facelifts, liposuction, breast augmentation, and a nose job (rhinoplasty). Examples of bariatric surgery include lap band, stomach stapling, and gastric bypass surgery.
Another misconception by the general public is that only inexperienced surgeons or surgeons new to the field make surgical errors. In fact, even the most respected and skillful surgeons make mistakes that lead to serious injuries or death to their patients. Just a few examples of surgeon malpractice include removing the wrong body part or operating on the wrong side of a patient, puncturing an organ close to the area of operation, which can result in a severe infection or allow dangerous fluids to enter the organ that was cut, also using unsanitary medical equipment.
Medical malpractice, including surgical errors happen frequently in hospitals. Medical malpractice occurs in hospitals for many reasons, including a shortage of medical staff, an overworked staff, tired staff, and medical staff that are not properly trained. Sometimes a shortage of surgeons will cause a serious injury to a patient who is in critical need of an operation, but is kept waiting while the surgeon is busy working on another operation. Surgeon's even make mistakes that may not be noticed until a future date, causing the problem to spiral into a far worse medical condition for the patient.
While hospitals carry risks for surgical errors and surgeon malpractice, there is an even larger risk when dealing with medical clinics or doctor's offices. Even for common elective plastic surgery procedures, there is an additional risk in a medical center or doctor's office compared with a hospital. The reasons for this are because medical centers do not have a full staff of trained medical experts prepared to handle a variety of unexpected medical emergencies. While a hospital has board certified anesthesiologists, critical care nurses, or specialized surgeons on staff, medical centers and doctors offices usually do not. If a serious emergency arises, these types of medical facilities are usually not properly equipped with the equipment, resources, or highly trained staff to handle the emergency. During a catastrophic medical emergency, the patient will be deteriorating quickly, while waiting for an ambulance to arrive to transport the patient to the hospital.
If you or a family member has been injured from medical malpractice, including suffering injuries from a surgical mistake, contact the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates for a free legal consultation.
