One of the reasons that New Jersey residents trust the opinions of their doctors is because medical professionals are held to a high level of professional training. After four years of medical school, most doctors go through multi-year residencies where they learn the specific skills and practices of the concentration in medicine that they will focus on. Some will go on to complete fellowships, internships and other skill-focused opportunities so that they are experts in their chosen fields of practice.
Surgeons often undergo some of the most rigorous medical training available because they are often invasively treating their patients through operations. However, despite their strict educational and practice standards, some surgeons and their medical teams may make egregious and dangerous medical mistakes while treating patients through surgery. There are several ways that surgical mistakes can happen, and readers are reminded that this post is not a comprehensive review of this important topic.
Surgical mistakes can happen when doctors operate on the wrong patients, wrong parts of the correct patients’ bodies and when they leave medical tools inside of their operating patients’ bodies. These are known, respectively, as wrong patient, wrong site and forgotten foreign body surgical mistakes. However, whenever a doctor fails to meet their duty of care or performs a negligent surgical procedure, medical malpractice may occur.
A medical mistake can cause a patient long-term pain, suffering and trauma. When such an event occurs, it is important that the victim is given proper medical care to begin healing from their ordeal. They may also consult with a medical malpractice attorney to find out if they have rights to pursue compensation for their losses and how best to approach the implementation of their legal options.