Reasons for Surgical Mistakes

Posted on March 31, 2008

Whether you are going into the hospital for a surgery that will only take a local anesthetic, or a major operation where you’ll be unconscious for a period of time, you may feel a little hesitant. These feelings seem to be somewhat normal for most people. After all, no one wants to put their life in the hands of another person. But what if this person is qualified and highly trained? Are you more likely to let them perform surgery on you? The obvious answer is yes. However, accidents happen and mistakes are made even by the best surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and hospitals in the world. But why do some of these things happen? We’ve heard stories of surgical instruments left inside patients, and arteries being clipped, yet we never really are given explanations for why these mistakes occurred in the first place.

Reasons

One reason mistakes are made might be due to the chaos that surrounds emergency situations. People who have been injured in accidents might need emergency surgery to keep them alive. And during this chaos, rush decisions need to be made by doctors and nurses. These rush decisions, meant to save lives can sometimes lead to permanent injuries that might not have occurred had the surgeons taken more time. It’s times like these when instruments are left inside the patient’s body.

Fatigue is another reason mistakes are made. While we’d like to believe that all surgeons have had their required rest, but hours for doctors and hospital staff are often long and sometimes arduous. When surgeons or their staff are tired, mistakes are more likely to be made, and patients are more likely to suffer as a result.

Miscommunication between doctors and staff is something that we don’t like to think about, especially given the fact that our lives are in their hands, but with all the different charts showing different tests and other minutia that must be attended to, any little slip or note read the wrong way can spell trouble for all involved.

Thousands of people undergo surgery every week. Most of these surgeries are successful. However, a small percentage will be bungled and the patients will be injured or killed due to a health care professional’s error. When these mistakes occur, you need to know what your options are. One of the options you have is to find out if you, or your loved ones, deserve compensation.

If you believe that an injury you or a family member sustained was due to some kind of negligence on the part of the surgeon or the team performing on you, please contact the experienced medical malpractice law offices of Weiss & Paarz P.C. in the Philadelphia and New Jersey area.

Surgical Mistakes – Weiss & Paarz PC