Surgical ErrorsAnesthesia Errors

Anesthesiologists serve as a patient’s guide and protector as they travel helplessly travel through medically induced states of altered consciousness. The risk of overdoses from illegal drugs is well known but similar risks exist with anesthesia administered by anesthesiologists. An anesthesiologist must not give too much or too little anesthesia. Too much anesthesia can cause death, coma or brain injury. Too little anesthesia may result in a patient waking up or recalling a surgical procedure. Errors in the dose administered may result in serious injuries warranting a malpractice claim. Anesthesiologists often rely on medications that create temporary paralysis. This can result in a patient being conscious while unable to speak while being aware of the surgical procedure and being able to experience the pain of the procedure. This condition is known as anesthesia awareness and patients report hearing conversations in the operating room, and often feeling as if they were unable to breath.

One of the biggest risks posed by anesthesia is to the patient’s airway. Anesthesiologists often intubate patients so that their airway remains protected and open during surgical procedures. Intubation must be done properly so that the airway is not damaged during the procedure. The failure to intubate a patient may also be a violation of the standard of care.

If you or a loved one suffered an injury or death as a failure to intubate or during the intubation process please contact the medical malpractice lawyers at Patterson Law for a free evaluation of a potential medical malpractice claim.

An overly simplistic way to view an anesthesiologist is as a shepherd through a difficult and dangerous process where the patient is often completely helpless. Depending on the procedure the anesthesiologist may have an obligation to personally educate the patient about the risks and the services being provided. The anesthesiologist must also take the proper safety precautions to make sure that a patient’s airway is protected and that there is appropriate equipment and medicines available if needed to protect the patient if a foreseeable risk occurs such as a cardiac event or decreased breathing. The anesthesiologist must also monitor the patient’s vital signs to make sure that the effects of the anesthesiology are not too little or too much. The anesthesiologist must also share information about the patient’s vital signs that is necessary for the surgeon. The job of the anesthesiologist is not over until the patient has safely emerged from the potentially dangerous effects of the anesthesia.

The medical malpractice lawyers at Patterson Law offer free consultations to assess whether anesthesia error resulted in a serious injury or death.