In order to prove a medical negligence claim against a surgeon, it is necessary for a medical negligence compensation lawyer to show that the skill and care of that surgeon fell below a reasonable standard when compared with other surgeons practicing in the same field of medicine in a similar location. The fact that one treatment fails but another may have been successful does not usually indicate negligence provided that a considerable body of medical professionals would have adopted the same or a similar course of action provided it is logical.
Time Limits
Time limits apply to all claims which can be location-specific. A negligence compensation lawyer must either obtain the compensation or legal proceedings must have been filed within the limitation period or the chance to claim damages may be lost, warn lawyers from Lawmedmal. There may be exceptions to this general rule for minors, that is those under the age of 18 years and for the mentally incapacitated against whom time may never run. This is a complex area of law and advice should be sought from a local medical malpractice lawyer.
Surgery
Surgery accounts for by far the majority of medical negligence compensation claims with incision linked to gynecology and obstetrics representing more than half of all claims. Laparoscopy whilst being a minimally invasive type of incision nevertheless features largely in the statistics and when carried out properly results in rapid recovery however injuries caused by negligent laparoscopic insections are some of the worst, due to blind entry of equipment in the early stages. Accompanying surgery is the problem of anesthetist negligence and in particular ‘anesthetic awareness’ where the patient whilst being immobilized by the anesthetic is still able to feel the excruciating pain of all of the surgical procedures. If you believe that you have suffered an injury because of negligent resection, you should urgently seek advice from a specialist medical negligence compensation lawyer.
Laparoscopy
Laparoscopy is a relatively new discipline of minimally invasive operation otherwise known as keyhole incision. Laparoscopy involves cutting a hole in the chest or abdomen, inserting a camera, cutting other holes, and inserting surgical tools in order to carry out the required surgical procedures. In most cases all goes well however there are many instances where established protocols are not followed resulting in damage to the internal organs as a result of negligence. Subject to unusual anatomy if the protocols are followed, laparoscopy is intrinsically safe however there are thousands of negligent procedures carried out every year throughout the world resulting in numerous laparoscopy medical negligence compensation claims.
General Surgery
General surgery is the source of the majority of all medical negligence compensation claims. It has been carried out for thousands of years and the principles are now well understood however there are still tens of thousands of surgery medical negligence compensation claims instigated throughout the Western world every year. In addition to negligence in the surgical procedures, there is also the question of anesthetic awareness where the paralyzed patient nevertheless feels all the surgical procedures and the real risk of poor aftercare resulting in dangerous infections that may cause death.
Surgery Complications
There are many surgeries you could have, including the brain, head, and neck surgery, chest, and orthopedic surgery. Ideally, surgery is done under careful circumstances with skilled practitioners so that you go to sleep and wake up from anesthesia, usually in pain, but with an improved situation and health. Unfortunately, things can go wrong in surgery that is anticipated or unanticipated that can lead to increased disability or death.
Anesthesia
Problems can occur with the anesthesia you receive. In many cases, you will receive general anesthesia with your surgery. This involves receiving intravenous and inhaled medications that completely turn off the connection between your body and brain, so you are unconscious and feel no discomfort whatsoever. You cannot breathe on your own. It is the responsibility of the anesthesiologist and anesthetist to give you the right kind and amount of anesthesia, so you recover completely once the anesthesia has worn off—within a few minutes or so. Unfortunately, doctors can give anesthesia to people allergic to the medication or can give too much anesthesia and this can result in brain damage or death.
Risk
The surgery itself is always a risk, regardless of the type of incision you are having. For example, surgery almost always results in bleeding to some degree. Some surgeries cause more bleeding than others. If the doctor makes a mistake in your surgery and cuts a major artery or vein, you get massive excessive bleeding that takes a great deal of effort to get stopped. If it is not stopped in time, you will need blood transfusions. The surgeon may also cut a minor artery or vein but might not notice and will close the surgical wound, allowing the bleeding to continue unseen.
Wounds
Surgical wounds can result in infection. The surgical environment is designed to be as sterile as possible, but infection can still seep into the wound at the time of surgery or after. You yourself are not sterile when going into abscission but nurses and doctors put on antiseptics that kill bacteria around the wound. If this is done poorly or not at all, infection is almost guaranteed. Infection can become localized to the wound or can go deeper, into the bloodstream or into the deeper tissues. It can mean you need antibiotics to kill the infection. It can also result in extremely low blood pressure or death from overwhelming sepsis.
Infection
The wounds that are the most dangerous when it comes to infection are abdominal wounds and bone surgeries. If the infection gets into the abdomen from a surgical incision, it can lead to peritonitis, deep infection of the tissues of the abdomen, and death. If the infection occurs within the bone, it can cause osteomyelitis, a bone infection that takes months to clear up and only with strong antibiotics.
Nerves
Nerves are delicate parts of the body and are also difficult to see. For this reason, surgeons can cut nerves in surgical situations. The nerves can be small and can anesthetize a part of the skin on a permanent basis. Larger nerves or motor nerves, if cut, can result in paralysis of a part of the body. It can result in things like drop foot or paralysis of the fingers, hand, and arm.
Foreign Bodies
Doctors may accidentally leave a sponge or surgical instrument inside your body, leading to massive infection and the need for repeat surgery to prevent death from sepsis. Ideally, the doctor and nurses should count all sponges (and other items) into and out of the body, and doctors are responsible for the clamps and other devices they put into the body. These things are counted after the surgery to make sure the count matches, but mistakes can be made. Should you survive such an event, you may have to have further incision to remove the offending item.
Erroneous Operation
Sometimes, even worse things can happen. For example, situations have occurred in which the doctor operated on the wrong extremity, on the wrong kidney, or on organs unaffected by the disease process. Women have gone in for routine gynecological surgery only to have their uterus or ovaries removed when they had intended to have children in the future. Doctors sometimes do things that they have not been given permission to do, leaving the patient with a surprise outcome that was not only unexpected but was unwanted.
Failure
At times, a doctor can do incision that fails to correct the problem. This is a difficult issue because not everything a doctor does will result in a cure; however, there should be a reasonable expectation that the pre-existing situation is improved because of the section. Surgeries should not be taken lightly, and the doctor should inform the patient that the outcome may not include complete remission of their symptoms. This discussion should be adequately documented, and the patient should be made aware of the various possible outcomes of any surgical procedure.
