No medical treatment is more dangerous – but often more necessary – than surgery. It requires not only completely sterile conditions but also the expert administration of anesthesia. Even minor mistakes, such as cutting the wrong blood vessel or miscalculating the anesthesia dosage, can result in fatal injuries.
At Ginsberg & O’Connor, our malpractice attorneys can help if you suffered a worsening condition, a new condition, or your loved one died following surgery. We can help determine whether you have a medical malpractice claim and guide you through the process.
Bad Surgical Outcome or Medical Malpractice?
Doctors may recommend surgery to treat certain conditions, such as back pain, but not every surgery involves a guaranteed outcome. Patients may risk a potentially worsening condition, especially in neurosurgical and brain injury cases, or undergo surgery only to continue struggling with the same issue. In many cases, some patients have undetectable underlying conditions that manifest during the surgical procedure.
Bad outcomes do not necessarily rise to the level of medical malpractice, but they are often a strong indicator that something went wrong. Our surgical negligence attorneys work with expert surgeons to thoroughly review your medical record and compare your case to recommended surgical standards and related outcomes. We may file a surgical malpractice claim if the evidence indicates your surgical team made avoidable errors that fell below the applicable standard of care in such cases.
Examples of Actionable Surgical Mistakes and ‘Never Events’
When surgeons, anesthesiologists, hospitals, and hospital staff do not follow acceptable medical practices during surgery, this generally supports medical malpractice litigation.
Common Surgical Errors
In most cases, our lawyers see the following surgical errors and injuries:
- Surgical site infections due to poor sanitation
- Nerve and muscle damage
- Excessive blood loss (surgical hemorrhage)
- Oxygen deprivation leading to brain trauma
- Kidney damage due to excessive anesthesia
We can help patients and their families recover damages from malpractice insurers for their medical expenses, pain and suffering, and associated lost wages.
‘Never Events’ During Surgeries in South Jersey
‘Never events’ are medical mistakes that both the medical and legal industry agree should ‘never’ happen. However, a Johns Hopkins study found that over 4,000 never events occur in U.S. hospitals each year. These include operating on the wrong patient or body part, leaving surgical scissors and instruments inside the patient, operating while intoxicated, giving patients the wrong blood type, and failing to obtain informed consent.
These events often involve reckless conduct by doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators and may lead to both malpractice litigation and criminal charges. In such cases, our dedicated surgical malpractice lawyers can recover compensatory and punitive damages from doctors and hospital conglomerates, such as Virtua Health and Jefferson Health System.
New Jersey Attorneys for Surgical Malpractice
At Ginsberg & O’Connor, we have proven experience in surgical negligence cases. Our experienced litigators recovered a $3,400,000 settlement for surgical malpractice and have recovered millions more for victims of medical malpractice throughout New Jersey. Contact us online or call 856-727-1991 to schedule a free and confidential consultation.