Going to the doctor may not be on your list of favorite pastimes, but it is something that you might find necessary at some point in your life. Especially if you, your spouse or one of your children are experiencing an ongoing health problem that requires specialized care. Perhaps a doctor has scheduled you to have, or you have recently undergone, surgery.
As a medical patient, you can reasonably expect that those to whom you entrust your care will act according to the highest level of accepted safety standards. The fact that many Ohio hospitals have understaffed, fatigued workers is an issue that may negatively affect your care, although it shouldn’t. Such situations often lead to medical negligence, however, including surgical errors.
The problem is not in this state alone
Not only in Ohio but throughout the nation, thousands of people suffer injury every year because of medical negligence. Among those who file legal claims to seek recovery for their losses, many list surgical errors as the causal factors that prompted their injuries. The following list tells more about the types of surgical mistakes doctors in the U.S. reportedly make most often:
- One of the most common surgical errors in Ohio and elsewhere in the U.S. occurs when surgeons operate on the wrong patients!
- Many surgeons perform operations on the wrong body parts as well, even if they have the correct patients. If your right knee needs surgery and the surgeon operates on your left knee by mistake, you have the right to seek compensation for damages.
- Anesthesia mistakes rank high on most lists regarding the most common surgical errors in the nation.
- Failing to remove surgical gauze or other operative instruments from the bodies of patients appears to be problematic in many hospitals as well.
Surgical teams are under obligation to make sure they remove every foreign object from your body during an operation. If the surgeon mistakenly leaves something inside of you that should not be there, you are at great risk for infection and, perhaps, even death. Poor communication, lack of leadership and other issues are common factors of surgical neglect that endanger the lives of patients in Ohio and beyond.
After the fact
While it might not be possible to undo what someone did in many surgical error situations, there are definitely options available to help you pursue justice against any and all parties who caused your injury. Medical neglect can not only cause you injury, it also often leaves you in a condition where your initial problem still exists, so you would need further surgery to treat it.
Many medical mistakes are often preventable. It is understandable that you would feel frustrated and angry if you wind up in worse condition post-surgery because a doctor, nurse or other team member failed in his or her fiduciary duty to keep you safe.