Chicago Surgical Error Lawyer

Surgery is a vulnerable time because you’re typically under general anesthesia and entirely reliant on a medical team to perform the operation safely and correctly. Unfortunately, errors and injuries do occur in surgery. These mistakes can result in complications like bleeding, infections, organ and tissue damage, seizures and, in some instances, a patient’s death. Approximately 4,000 of these incidents happen in United States medical facilities each year.

If you believe you’ve been the victim of surgical error, contact an experienced surgical malpractice attorney.

get a free consultation

What Are the Types of Surgical Errors?

surgical team standing over an operating table

Common surgical errors in Chicago and U.S. hospitals include:

Incorrect administration of anesthesia: If medical personnel administer too little anesthesia, the patient could wake up during the procedure. Too much anesthesia can cause the heart rate to drop too low or result in a coma.
Wrong site surgery: Surgeons may operate on the wrong body part due to incorrect information on the surgical form or other reasons.
Nerve injury during surgery: These injuries may occur if the surgeon accidentally slices a nerve or presses an instrument against it, resulting in inflammation. The injection of neurotoxic substances is another potential cause.
Post-surgery infection: A contaminated caregiver or instrument can transmit germs to the patient via the surgical wound and cause an infection.
Surgery on the wrong patient: Laboratory mistakes, such as mixed-up tissue samples, can lead to surgeons operating on the wrong individual.
Surgical equipment left in the patient: Fatigue, hurrying, inexperience with surgical emergencies and improper management systems may result in instruments being left inside the patient.
Incorrectly stitched incisions: Improper sutures can cause the surgical wound to reopen or lead to an infection.
Damage to internal organs, bones or tendons during the operation: Surgeons can accidentally damage these body parts while working on or accessing other areas.
Cosmetic surgery injury: Errors in plastic surgery can result in disfigurement, scarring, bruising and infections.

If you’ve suffered an injury during surgery, contact a surgical error attorney in Chicago to learn about your options.

Common Causes of Surgical Injuries

Orthopedic surgical injury and other types of operation-related injury can occur for many reasons, including:

Poorly kept patient records and badly dictated operative notes
Lack of checking notes and patient records before surgery
Incorrect diagnosis and treatment of problems, which occur during surgery
Failure to follow proper head injury surgical indication or other surgical best practices
Drug and alcohol use by medical staff
Poor preoperative planning and prep
Insufficient training or experience
Poor communication in the operating room
Fatigued staff
Ineffective surgical and work processes in the operating room

Can You Sue a Doctor for Messing Up Surgery in Chicago?

While physicians can never guarantee the outcome of a procedure, many surgical errors are preventable. Medical negligence, also known as malpractice, occurs when surgeons do not meet the prevailing standards of medical care applying to their specialty. Negligence may also exist if an injury during surgery occurs and the patient is unaware of the risk. Medical providers do have protections, so not all medical mistakes are considered malpractice. Once the provider has gone into negligent territory — outside the standard of reasonable care — that is where the malpractice cases will fall.

Examples of surgical errors that often constitute medical malpractice in Illinois include:

Not following applicable infection prevention protocols.
Lack of supervision of assisting or closing surgeons.
Operating on the wrong person or body part.
Nerve damage or scarring resulting from carelessness or haste.
Improper anesthesia administration.

Consult Experienced Surgical Error Attorneys in Chicago

Battle-tested Chicago surgical error lawyers like the team Argionis & Associates can be trusted allies if you’ve experienced medical malpractice. You’ll work closely with knowledgeable surgical malpractice attorneys who have helped clients across Illinois attain the most favorable legal outcomes for their situation.

Surgical Error Attorney in Chicago