Denver Surgical Error Attorneys
We Handle Surgical Malpractice Claims Across the United States
There is no excuse for surgical errors. Even a minor mistake during surgery can inflict lifelong damage, paralyze, or kill a patient. Surgeons and their staff are held to the standard of care. When avoidable mistakes are made, the negligent medical provider and hospital can be held legally and financially responsible.
If you or a loved one was the victim of a surgical error, do not accept an apology for your pain and suffering. Speak to an experienced surgical malpractice attorney to make sure your rights are protected. Call Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. at (877) 433-3906 to tell us what happened and learn about your best options for a successful outcome. After suffering a traumatic error, let our first-rate team take care of you.
What Are Some Types of Surgical Errors?
There are many different ways that surgical errors can occur. Every step in the operating room, from having the right test results to positioning the patient correctly to taping the patient’s eyes shut, is vital to the patient’s safety.
We have seen cases where patients suffered permanent nerve damage because the surgeon inadvertently leaned on them for hours during a procedure, and cases where surgeons removed a healthy organ because of a lab mix-up. Surgical malpractice is never caused by a patient, and a patient should not have to suffer the consequences and bear the costs alone.
Surgical errors that result in medical malpractice may be caused by:
- Drug or alcohol use
- Failure to communicate by the operating team
- Poor administrative oversight
- Prescription medicine errors
- Inadequate hospital policies
- Insufficient staffing
- Incompetence
- Fatigue
The surgical errors we often see at our law firm include:
- Nerve Damage: A careless incision can damage nerves around the surgical site, possibly resulting in muscle weakness or paralysis.
- Organ Damage can be life-threatening. Additional procedures may ultimately be needed to repair the harm done by the surgeon’s original mistake.
- Unsanitary Conditions occur when someone on the medical staff fails to perform standard sanitation procedures, such as reusing a one-time instrument. This can result in sepsis, extended recovery time, loss of an organ, and death.
- Anesthesia Errors: An anesthesiologist is always on hand during surgery to properly adjust the level of anesthesia while remaining mindful of the patient’s vital signs. Providing improper levels of medication can be fatal. It’s also essential for the hospital to verify any patient allergies or medical conditions that may affect anesthetization.
- Leaving Medical Equipment Inside a Patient: Sponges, drains, forceps, scopes, scissors, needles, and surgical masks and gloves have all been left inside patients by medical teams that did not take the time to properly conclude an operation. At the very least, this requires an additional procedure to remove the object, and it could result in medical complications.
- Operating on the Wrong Patient means that a hospital error resulted in a patient undergoing a surgical procedure that caused medical harm for no good reason.
- Unnecessary Amputation or Operating on the Wrong Body Part: These mistakes result from improper planning and inadequate communication. Healthy tissue may be damaged, or a healthy body part may be entirely removed. As a result, the patient will have to undergo another surgery to carry out the correct procedure.
- Surgical Fires: Devices such electrical surgical machines, static electricity, or lasers can spark a fire that feeds on oxygen, alcohol, linens, or other flammable material. Surgical fires often have devastating results.
- Improper Monitoring of the patient’s vital signs may cause unnecessary complications that could be life-threatening or damage the patient’s long-term health and recovery.
What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice occurs when a hospital, doctor, or other health care professional performs a negligent action that results in significant damages to the patient. In order to establish negligence in a medical malpractice claim, a malpractice attorney must prove that the standard of care was violated. This means that the health care professional did something that a reasonably prudent person would not have done. Then a malpractice attorney must prove that the violation of the standard of care was a cause of injury, damages or losses to the patient.
Medical professionals are obligated to maintain the standard of care before, during, and after a surgery. Anyone who is within the scope of employment can be found guilty of medical malpractice, including:
- Hospitals
- Doctors
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Hospital administrators
- Pharmaceutical and medical device companies
Getting Just Compensation After a Surgical Error
Medical professionals often try to obfuscate the facts of the case by hiding behind medical jargon. That won’t work on us. At Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. we have handled hundreds of surgical error cases. We have won record-breaking verdicts for clients across the country, including the largest and second-largest medical malpractice verdicts in the state of Colorado.
After any surgical mistake, call our top-rated trial attorneys at Leventhal Puga Braley P.C. Our clients and their families always come first, and we have the experience and the resources to go up against any hospital or insurance company in the nation.
If we take your case, you will owe us no fees until we get you satisfactory compensation. For a no-cost consultation in which we will review your medical records, please call (303) 759-9945 or toll-free (877) 433-3906.
Additional Information
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