Different Types of Surgical Errors

Over 200 million surgeries are carried out each year internationally, and despite the awareness of negative results, surgical errors still occur at an amazingly high rate. In fact, according to the National Center for Biotechnology Information, in the United States alone, a minimum of 4,000 surgical errors take place each year. 

Although most surgical treatments that are performed in the U.S. go smoothly, in some cases severe errors happen during surgical treatment due to the neglect of a physician. When this occurs, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim and look for compensation for your damages.

No matter the severity of your surgical treatment, the last thing a client wishes to hear is that an error took place. Nevertheless, even if an error occurred, it does not instantly mean that it was due to medical malpractice. Throughout this article, you will discover information that will detail various types of surgical errors, help you figure out when a surgical error amounts to medical malpractice, and if your case qualifies for compensation.

Surgical Errors

Simply put, a surgical error is a preventable error that occurs during surgery. As all of us know, all surgical treatments pose some aspect of danger. Due to the fact of this, it is common to sign a form prior to being operated on that states that you understand that surgery includes a known risk. This is known as "informed consent." However, surgical risks go far beyond the recognized threats of surgical treatment–they are unexpected. 

Different Types of Surgical Errors

There are many different types of surgical errors that medical professionals can commit, leading to lifelong complications for patients and their loved ones. Some of the most common surgical mistakes include:

• Infection - Infection happens when the use of unsanitary surgical instruments or equipment during an operation leads to cross-contamination of disease. If the patient is already immunocompromised, the result can be infection and even sepsis, which can be deadly.  
• Wrong Site Surgery - Wrong site surgery occurs when a patient’s surgery is performed on the wrong body part or organ. In fact, there have been many instances where patients have had the wrong limb amputated.
• Surgical Instruments Left in the Body - This is more common than one would think. Sometimes surgical instruments are left inside the body after an incision is stitched up. Most hospitals require that all instruments, equipment, gauzes, etc., be accounted for before and after surgery, but some do not. Severe complications and infections can result from surgical instruments being left inside of the body.
• Wrong Patient/Unnecessary Surgery - Wrong patient surgery is less common than wrong site injury, but it still occurs. When a patient receives an unnecessary surgery, coupled with the complications that come with surgery, it can have horrible, lifelong consequences.
• Damage to Internal Organs - When organs and tissue are damaged during surgery, a neighboring organ can be accidentally pierced or punctured with surgical instruments such as scalpels, scissors, or even lasers. Organ tissue is especially fragile, and if it becomes punctured, it can lead to severe and lifelong health issues. 
• Nerve Damage - When a surgeon makes a physical error while administering anesthesia, it can lead to the patient suffering minor to severe nerve damage. This can be due to an inexperienced or careless surgeon and can lead to paralysis and other complications.

Complications That Result From Surgical Errors

No matter the cause of your surgical error, it can cause life-threatening or crippling complications, including:

• Nerve Damage - As we touched on above, nerve damage can cause many complications. Those include muscle weakness and partial or full paralysis in the area that is affected. In some cases, additional surgeries and physical rehabilitation may be needed in order to help patients regain strength.
• Organ Damage - Damage to internal organs is a potential complication, especially in cases where a surgeon uses the wrong equipment, surgical instrument, or surgical technique.
• Scarring - Operating on the wrong body part or the wrong side of the body can oftentimes lead to unnecessary scarring.
• Internal Bleeding - While bleeding risks come with any surgery, internal bleeding can be the result of negligence or unnecessary roughness during an operation. When there is internal bleeding following surgery, it can go unnoticed and seriously increase the risk of fatality or serious complications.
• Disfigurement - When serious surgical errors occur, a patient can become disfigured. A surgical error can result in the unnecessary amputation of a limb or the amputation of the wrong limb.
• Disability - When a patient experiences a lack of oxygen during an operation, too much anesthesia, or accidental nerve damage, it can lead to temporary or permanent disabilities such as parietal or full paralysis.
• Death - Unfortunately, each year, many patients die as the result of avoidable surgical errors.

Treatments After Surgical Error

Due to the severe nature that surgical errors pose, extensive and ongoing care to treat or correct the mistake is unavoidable. A few common treatments following surgical errors include:

• Additional Surgeries to Correct Damage - In many surgical error cases, additional procedures are needed in order to repair the damage. These additional surgeries can increase a patient’s risk of developing infections and other complications and can become very expensive.
• At-Home Care - Serious injuries may require extended at-home care from a nurse, doctor, or other medical professionals. If the surgical error has caused paralysis, a patient may need a wheelchair or other equipment to help assist their injuries. In this case, a patient’s home or automobile may need to be modified to accommodate such injuries or equipment. Additional care, equipment, etc., can become pricey.
• Ongoing Need for Rehabilitation - Many surgical errors result in injuries that require long-term physical or mental rehabilitation. A patient may need physical therapy to relearn daily functions, such as walking, speaking, or eating. This will result in extended therapies and rehabilitation, which can become very costly. 

Why Do Surgical Errors Occur?

No two surgeries are the same. That is why each surgical error has the possibility to be unique. However, here are some common reasons that surgical errors take place:

• Neglect - Many times, surgeons are simply just not careful like they should be. This may include failing to make sure that their surgical instruments are disinfected properly or the decision to use equipment that is known to be defective. 
• Poor Communication - Failing to communicate correctly can lead to numerous critical errors. For instance, a surgeon could mark the wrong site for surgery or fail to make sure that all equipment is properly handled. Miscommunication can also lead to improper dosage of medicine. Any of these can lead to severe consequences.
• Fatigue - Due to surgeons notoriously working long shifts, this is actually common. This sometimes results in fatigue, and tired people are more likely to make mistakes compared to people who are well-rested.
• Drugs/Alcohol - Due to the high-stress level that many surgeons face, some look to drugs and alcohol to cope. It may be surprising to some that a surgeon would even think to enter an operating room under the influence of drugs or alcohol; however, it happens.
• Improper Work Process - Sometimes, surgeons may mistakenly determine that they do not need to take specific steps during surgery and take shortcuts. These shortcuts can become costly when it comes to something as serious as an operation.
• Incompetence - In some instances, a surgeon may not have performed the procedure many times and simply lacks the knowledge, skill, or experience that it takes to perform the surgery successfully. This may sound strange, but it can happen, and it does.
• Inadequate Preoperative Planning - When a surgeon is not prepared for surgery, it can become detrimental. It is essential to review and prepare for any complications that may occur. This is not only limited to surgeons but can include improper preparation by nurses and assistants, failing to ensure all equipment is ready and available when needed by the surgeon.

The list of possible causes continues. However, if you believe your surgical error was due to the negligence of another, you will most likely be able to pursue a medical malpractice case.

What is Medical Malpractice?

When you are injured due to a surgical error, you may be asking yourself if it means that medical malpractice has occurred. Although most times it may, the mere fact that a surgical error took place does not ensure that someone (or anyone) is liable for medical malpractice. In order to determine if it is medical malpractice, the medical treatment in question, no matter if it was a surgical procedure or not, has to follow the practices of an accepted medical standard of care. In addition, the sub-standard treatment must have directly affected, and hurt you. 

In other terms, if the medical error did not fall below the medical standard of care, or the treatment/surgery did not hurt you, no malpractice took place. A general standard of care definition is “the type and level of care that a normal, sensible, medical professional, with the equivalent training and experience, would provide under the same, or comparable, circumstances in the same community.”

In most surgical error cases, it is rather simple to prove that your medical professional’s treatment was below the standard of care. If you are, in fact, able to prove that a surgical error violated that standard of care, the issue becomes where or not you were injured by the error.  

Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim Following Your Surgical Error

Although surgical errors are not always as evident as leaving gauze inside a patient or operating on the wrong body part, they can come in a more subtle form, such as a surgeon failing to exercise reasonable care during any point in the surgery. It’s important to keep in mind that medical professionals are humans, and like the rest of us, they too can become exhausted from working too many hours in a given day when performing surgery or become sick but still show up to work. It is not as simple to “call in sick” when you are a surgeon that has numerous operations scheduled in a day. 

However, whether or not the surgical injury could have been avoided if the standard of care had been executed is the issue. When establishing the medical standard of care in a medical malpractice case, there are a few critical steps. Those include:

• Determine what a reasonably skilled surgeon would have done under the same circumstances.
• Show how the surgeon in question failed to meet that medical standard of care during the operation.
• Prove that the surgeon’s negligence was what caused the patient harm.

Once these three key factors have been established, you most likely have a valid medical malpractice case. What you do next is crucial. 

Hire An Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Once you have established that you have a defendable medical malpractice case, it is essential to consult an experienced medical malpractice lawyer. Regardless of the type of surgical error you suffered, having a lawyer who has experience in medical malpractice claims makes a huge difference. They will have an understanding of common surgical procedures and the risks they pose in addition to the resources to consult with medical professionals on what the medical standard of care is. These third-party medical professionals are a huge help in determining if a surgical error has occurred and if it was the error that caused the complications the patient is facing. 

Your lawyer can fight insurance companies and large corporations that usually own hospitals or operating centers to make sure that you receive the compensation that you truly deserve. Because surgical errors can lead to severe, life-long difficulties, your lawyer can seek damages to compensate you for both present and future issues. 

Who Can Be Held Liable for My Surgical Errors?

In some cases, surgical errors may not be discovered for days, weeks, months, or even years after a procedure takes place. For example, if a medical instrument or piece of gauze is left inside the patient, it could remain inside the patient and not cause any real harm until long after the surgery occurred. In these cases, a patient may not remember who the surgeon was or may be unable to find them because they no longer work at the hospital. 

However, there are many contributing factors that lead to medical mistakes, and it may not only be the surgeon that is liable for your surgical error injuries. In some cases, the hospital in which the operation took place can be held vicariously liable for medical professionals' negligence. 

Under the legal doctrine “respondeat superior,” an employer can be held liable for the negligence of one of its employees as long as the negligent act occurred within the scope of employment. This means that a hospital can be held vicariously liable for a medical mistake of a doctor as long as the following things can be proved:

• The injury occurred while the employee was on the clock
• The injury was the result of an activity the employee was hired to perform
• The employer benefited in some way from the activity the employee performed at the time of the injury

Sometimes, hospitals will state that the doctor that performed the operation was not an employee but instead an independent contractor, and therefore there is no hospital malpractice. However, the hospital can be held liable for its own negligence if it fails to adequately investigate the credentials of an acting physician before allowing them to operate at the hospital or allowing a physician to treat patients when the hospital knew they were incompetent. 

Vicarious liability applies to hospitals and individual doctors for mistakes that were the result of negligence. This includes mistakes made by interns and medical students who were operating under a surgeon’s supervision. 

What Damages Can A Lawyer Help Me Recover From My Surgical Error?

If you have proven that a negligent surgeon was the cause of your injuries, you may be able to receive compensation through a medical malpractice case. The most common types of economic and non-economic compensatory damages you may be eligible for consist of:

• Medical Expenses - treatments, doctor visits, physical therapy, additional surgeries, and assistive aids that your injury has left you with can all be reimbursed to you.
• Disfigurement - if your injury leaves you with hair loss, missing or deformed body parts, scars, or any other obvious visual changes, you can be compensated for disfigurement.
• Pain and Suffering - any physical pain and discomfort you have experienced after a surgeon harmed you, you can be compensated for. The monetary amount will be determined by the specific injury you faced as well as the length of your recovery.
• Mental Anguish - any anxiety, distress, depression, and trauma you face are all types of mental anguish that can warrant compensation in a medical malpractice lawsuit. 
• Loss of Consortium - any loss of physical intimacy or companionship with a partner or spouse that your injuries caused may be compensated.
• Disability - if your injury leaves you disabled and you are not able to work or participate in activities that you were able to before your surgery, you may be able to receive compensation.
• Loss of Income - if you miss work due to your injury and the recovery process, you can be compensated for any past, present, and future wages.

The unfortunate truth is that thousands of patients are injured by surgical errors every year. These preventable mistakes often lead to medical malpractice claims against medical providers, hospitals, and surgical centers. The injuries that patients face from surgical errors can be very severe and sometimes even end in lifelong care and treatment. Not only do victims of surgical errors face severe physical damage, but they can also suffer emotional and financial damage as well.