Surgeons are some of the most highly trained and highest-paid doctors, but they are also humans and can make mistakes. Surgical errors are, unfortunately, far more common than you might think. If you believe you have been the victim of surgical errors, legal options may be available. Talk to a Houston Personal Injury Attorney today and determine your legal options.
What is medical malpractice?
Medical malpractice is a legal term that means a breach or violation of the standard of care that a medical practitioner owes to a patient. However, you should remember that just because there has been a surgical error does not mean you have a medical malpractice claim. For a medical malpractice claim to be valid, two things need to be true:
- There was a breach in the standard of care
- The sub-standard treatment caused you some sort of injury or harm
What are surgical errors?
A surgical error is any avoidable error or mistake that a medical practitioner makes which results in further harm to the patient. All surgeries have risks, but a surgical error occurs when the patient faces unexpected complications.
The different types of surgical errors are:
- Leaving a foreign object inside the patient
- Wrong site surgery
- Surgical complications
- Side effects of surgery
- Failed surgery
- Injuries sustained during surgery
- Unnecessary surgery
What are the common causes of surgical errors?
Surgical errors can happen due to any number of reasons. Some of these reasons can be:
- Defective surgical devices
- Understaffed hospital
- Inadequate education or training
- Failed communication
- Poor planning
- Fatigue or exhaustion
- Substance abuse
- Human errors
How can you prove that a surgeon made an error?
If you wish to file a legal claim against a surgeon that caused you harm, you would need to be able to prove that the surgeon made a surgical error. The things that you have to demonstrate are:
- You must prove that the surgeon owed you a duty of care
- You must prove that the surgeon breached the standard of care
- You must prove that you were injured or harmed by the surgical error
Speak to a lawyer today.
If you have been injured due to the mistakes of a medical practitioner during surgery, you deserve justice. Schedule a consultation with an experienced personal injury lawyer and learn how to file a claim and receive compensation to recover your losses.