Many people have to undergo surgeries to help relieve pain, medical conditions, infections and other issues. There is often no other choice for people to resolve a medical condition other than surgery. When people get surgery, they put their trust in surgeons, doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers to care for them.
However, highly skilled and trained surgeons can make errors during a procedure that put a patient’s life in jeopardy. Here is how that can happen:
Wrong-site surgery
Medical records should clearly define where a patient is supposed to have surgery done on their body. If a patient’s record is not reviewed carefully, they could have an operation done on the wrong side of their body.
Retained objects
Surgeons and nurses use a lot of different tools as they operate on patients. These tools may be left behind in the body if they are not properly kept track of. These tools could cause severe injury to patients over time if they are left in the body.
Swapped patient records
Medical facilities are responsible for keeping track of medical records. When medical records are lost or swapped, then it can lead to many dangers. If a patient’s medical records were swapped with another, this could lead to a patient getting the wrong surgery. This could severely injure a patient.
Unsanitary medical devices
Medical devices should be properly cleaned after every use. If a tool is not cleaned after working on a patient, this could cause another patient to develop an infection or contract a disease.
If you or a loved one has recently undergone surgery and believe an injury, illness or error was the result of a surgeon’s or nurse’s negligence, then you may have a medical malpractice case on your hands.
