Surgical Mistakes
Terrible mistakes can happen during surgery. Each year in the U.S. alone, surgical mistakes result in tens of thousands of innocent surgical patients suffering serious injury, paralysis, or even death. These mistakes are committed by surgeons, surgical and hospital staff, and other health care providers.
Topics on this page:
Examples of Surgical Errors
- Surgery mistakenly performed on the wrong part of the body (wrong site surgery can include removing the wrong part of the body, such as limbs, organs, and tissue) or surgery on the wrong patient
- Surgical instrument left in the body — retractors, sponges, and surgical towels have been carelessly left in the body of surgical patients. According to the Center for Disease Control, approximately 15,000 surgical patients have had a surgical instrument left inside their body over a period of just a few years
- Use of unsanitary surgical tools, operating rooms, or gloves/hands of medical staff, leading to infection
- Unnecessary surgery or more extensive surgery than is needed
- Puncture (perforation) of an organ, artery, or other tissue, resulting in excessive bleeding or damage to the organ
- Improper incision (a surgical cut that is too deep, too long, at the wrong location, etc.)
- Delayed surgery (waiting too long to operate)
- Prolonged surgery (surgery that takes too long, leaving the patient under anesthetic or on artificial lung/heart machines for a dangerous period of time)
- Damage from a planned surgery that happens when the right surgery is performed, but the patient was not advised of the risk of injury before agreeing to the surgery
back to top
Causes of Surgical Errors
All surgeries are risky, but a negligent surgeon or medical staff can greatly increase the risk of injury or death. Common causes of surgical errors include:
- Inattentive or distracted surgeons or staff
- Fatigue of surgeons and medical staff due to long work hours, too many operations, etc.
- Failure to clearly communicate surgery orders either by spoken word or due to poor handwriting
- Careless or incomplete planning before the surgery
- Reckless, careless, or rushed decision making under pressure
back to top
Common Surgeries where Surgical Errors Occur
- Gastric Bypass ( reducing the size of the stomach and reconnecting it by bypassing part of the small intestine);
- Childbirth
- Heart Surgery (Coronary Artery Bypass, Angioplasty, Heart Catheterization)
- Thoracic Surgery (Surgery involving the lungs and chest)
- Intestinal or Abdominal Surgery (laparoscopy)
Surgical errors also commonly happen during plastic surgery or cosmetic surgery operations such as:
- Breast Augmentation (enlargement or reduction of breast size)
- Liposuction (surgical "vacuuming” of excess fat and tissue)
- Rhytidectomy (face lift)
- Rhinoplasty (nose surgery)
- Otoplasty (ear surgery)
back to top
Surgical Errors and Their Consequences
Victims of surgical errors and their families are often forced to deal with enormous medical costs and other devastating problems, such as:
- Many additional surgeries to correct the mistake
- Infection leading to other medical complications
- Damage to organs and nerve damage
- Internal bleeding that can lead to severe blood loss and death
- Scarring or disfigurement
- Permanent disability back to top
back to top
Experienced Attorneys with Proven Results
Patients who have suffered injury due to a surgical error have legal rights, including the right to hold careless surgeons and medical staff accountable for their injuries. The medical malpractice attorneys of Kershaw, Cutter & Ratinoff are experienced in helping victims in a variety of medical malpractice cases, including surgical errors.
- KCR achieved a six-figure arbitration award in a Kaiser medical malpractice dispute. The plaintiff was admitted to Kaiser Foundation Hospital to deliver a baby. Within days after undergoing a C-section surgery, she developed several severe infections.
Treatment for the infections required hospitalization and prolonged treatment at home involving painful wound cleansing and care. The arbitrator determined that Kaiser’s failure to provide adequate antibiotics for plaintiff’s infections was the proximate cause of her pain and suffering.
If you, or a loved one, have been injured as the result of the carelessness and negligence of a surgeon or medical staff during surgery, please fill out and submit the contact form on this page for a free and confidential case evaluation, or call us toll-free at (888) 285-3333.
back to top