Surgical Error LawyersReal Answers for Victims of Surgical Mistakes
Injuries from surgical errors generally require a medical and legal investigation to uncover the facts. This will typically begin with a review of the medical records by an attorney and then a medical expert. Medical records typically do not contain overt confessions of errors, but the medical documentation may show deviations by the medical personnel from the accepted standards of care. In addition, the type of injury sustained can sometimes lead to the inevitable conclusion that malpractice occurred. Some surgical errors involve improper technique. Improper surgical technique typically requires a medical expert to review the medical records and the patient’s postsurgical injury to offer an opinion as to the improper surgical technique that led to the injury.
The medical malpractice lawyers at Patterson Law routinely work with medical experts to obtain assessments as to whether bad outcomes from surgical procedures are due to malpractice as opposed to known risks or unfortunate complications. The investigation usually requires the collection of the victim’s complete medical history. Surgeons often must balance the risks and benefits of a treatment for a patient with multiple ailments. For example, during surgical procedures the general standard of care is for patients to be taken off blood thinners and anticoagulants. This is to avoid bleeding during a surgical procedure and after a surgery while internal wounds heal. A patient with severe atrial fibrillation without proper medication is at a heightened risk of blood clots forming and subsequently causing a stroke. The medical team must balance the risk of a patient suffering a stroke against the risk of the patient suffering a serious internal bleed. The standard of care is typically to resume the anticoagulant medication a certain number of hours after a surgery. The longer the medical team waits the greater the risk to the patient of suffering stroke. On the other hand, the sooner that anticoagulation medication is administered after a surgical procedure the greater the risk of an internal bleed to the patient. This is just one example of many where a bad outcome after a surgical procedure occurred due to competing risks that the medical team properly managed.
Please contact the surgical error lawyers at Patterson Law if you or a loved one may be the victim of a surgical mistake to schedule a free consultation.