Legal Topics

Author: Nidhi Sood on Oct 22,2024

Surgical Errors: Causes, Impact, and How to Prevent Them

Surgery is usually a life-saving measure, but if a mistake is made in the operating room, the consequences can be devastating. Surgical errors are the leading cause of medical malpractice cases, placing a long-term physical, emotional, and financial burden on patients. This blog delves into the causes of surgical errors, their impact on patients, and ways to prevent these devastating events. Understanding the legal mechanisms, such as enlisting the help of a surgical malpractice lawyer to obtain justice and compensation for those affected, is essential.

Understanding Surgical Errors

Surgical errors are called "never events." These are events that should never be experienced in the healthcare industry. From operating on the wrong patient or body part to leaving surgical instruments in the patient’s body. In an ideal world, medicine is precisely science, but humanity often fails. The first step in reducing this issue is to prevent surgical errors by identifying why they occur, their impact on patients, and what can be done to avoid them.

What Is a Surgical Error?

These surgical errors in a procedure that does not live up to the accepted standard of care. The following are some of the most common ones:

• Wrong-Site Surgery: Surgery on the wrong body part.
• Wrong Patient Surgery: Surgery on the wrong patient.
• Leaving Instruments Inside the Body: Surgical instruments, sponges, and other objects left behind at the end of surgery.
• Anesthesia Errors: improper dosages or anesthetic agents administered.
• Nerve Damage: unintended damage to nerves close to the surgical site.

These errors traumatize the patients and present complicated medical and legal consequences, usually in malpractice litigation cases.

Causes of Surgical Mistakes

Surgical mistakes are multi-factorial, with broad categories that may be categorized into human, procedural, and systemic failures. Here are some of the critical contributors:

Poor Communication

These miscommunications by the surgery teams are disastrous. Inadequate dissemination of information, failure to identify the patient, and unclear instructions can all contribute to wrong-site or wrong-patient surgery.

Fatigue and Burnout

Surgical hours stretch across long periods in the operating room. These eventually cause fatigue. When paired with inadequate rest and sleep, concentration and sharp fine motor skills most needed for high-pressure surgery are impaired.

Lack of Appropriate Training

Poor training of the operational staff on new technologies or methods leads to potential errors. Surgeries and assistants who must be adequately conversant with the gadgetry technology or the surgical technique commit crucial mistakes.

Failure to Observe Standards

SOPs are developed for patient protection. All healthcare professionals' failure or medical negligence towards observing the set standards leads to errors.

Failure of Equipment

Defective surgical equipment and out-of-date technology can also be considered as causes of errors. A broken scalpel or a faulty heart monitor could cause complications or miscalculations during the surgery.

Human Mistake

Small human mistakes, like misreading medical records, giving wrong dosages of medicines, and not being sterilized before use in surgery, may lead to surgical errors.

What are the Consequences of Surgical Errors?

The impact of surgical mistakes on patients could be psychologically and physiologically significant. This impact will likely extend beyond the immediate physiological effects since some patients may encounter long-term effects.

Physical Consequences

The physical consequences might include infection, internal bleeding, or yet another surgery to fix the error, or in extreme cases, permanent disability or death.

Emotional Implication

One of the worst effects of surgical error would be in the psychological areas. It may cause an anxiety attack, depression, and PTSD.

Cost

Additional medical treatment, rehabilitation, and long-term care can quickly add up. Patients usually come out of the hospital with gigantic medical bills that worsen their financial lives.

Loss of Trust in the Medical Profession

Surgical errors often cause patients to lose faith in healthcare providers. This can worsen future medical care since patients fear getting another piece wrong and are afraid to seek treatment.

Suggested read: Read About The Common Types of Medical Malpractice Cases.

Lawsuit for Surgical Mistakes

A patient or their relatives can file a case against a medical professional, typically under the supervision of a surgical error attorney, who may, on their behalf, take a claim when a surgical error occurs. The grounds and facts of a medical malpractice claim for surgical mistakes are grave and require proof through expert evidence and thorough and committed investigation.

Who is Eligible to File a Case for Surgical Errors?

In a successful lawsuit for surgical errors, the claimant, that is, the patient or his representatives, must show the court the following:

Standard of Care Was Breached

Surgeons owe a duty to provide care that comports with an accepted standard of medical practice. A medical malpractice claim must prove that the surgeon deviated from or breached the standard of care during surgery.

Cause

Evidence must show that the surgeon's act or omission was directly responsible for the patient's injury or worsening of a pre-existing condition.

Damages

The patient must demonstrate that they have suffered actual harm that can be quantified, whether physical, emotional, or monetary.

The Role of a Surgical Error Attorney

A specialized surgical error attorney is integral to the intricacies of medical malpractice cases. They will help collect evidence, consult with medical experts, and build a solid case to prove that the negligence occurred. Even further, attorneys can negotiate settlements with hospitals or insurance companies to ensure patients receive compensation for their injuries and related expenses.

The process Involves:

• Review of Medical Records: The attorney will review the patient's medical records to determine where the mistake occurred and whether the care didn't meet the standard.
• Engagement of Medical Experts: They testify that the surgeons or other professionals have negligently acted.
• Negotiation and Litigation: When a settlement can't be agreed on, the case is taken to court, and an attorney fights for the patient's rights.

Claiming Compensation

Eligible patients who suffered from surgical error are, in different aspects, entitled to claim a variety of compensations:

• Medical Expenses: Applied to corrective surgery, rehabilitation, and other prospective and ongoing medical care.
• Loss of Wage: In a case where the error rendered a patient incapable of working, there has been a loss of wages or earning potential in the future.
• Pain and Suffering: There might be reparation for the pain and anguish due to surgical errors.

Legal Pre-Requisites for Suing

The legal requirements for suing based on surgical malpractice can vary significantly from state to state. In many states, plaintiffs must meet specific criteria to claim medical malpractice. For example, in states like Georgia, plaintiffs must provide the defendant with an affidavit from a qualified surgeon in the same specialty. Should this affidavit allege that the surgeon breached the standard of care and that the breach caused direct injury to the patient? This affidavit is necessary for the case to be dismissed early in the legal process.

In other states, such as California or Texas, plaintiffs may be required to present their cases to a medical review board before a case can proceed. These panels examine whether the surgical error qualifies as malpractice by finding that the standard of care was breached. If the commission concludes that no misconduct occurred, the case may not be allowed to move forward based on specific state laws.

Please meet these legal requirements to avoid a dismissal that is not meritorious. Thus, individuals affected by surgical errors need to consult a surgical malpractice attorney familiar with their state's specific legal issues. This will meet all procedural requirements and have a solid foundation from the beginning of the case.

Surgical Errors in Case of Emergencies

In some countries, surgical errors may be handled differently when the procedure is performed in an emergency setting. Emergency surgery is often performed in high-pressure situations, requiring immediate action to save a patient's life or prevent serious harm. Because of this unique situation, some states have imposed legal immunity in elective or emergency surgery for physicians, physicians, and manufacturers.res

For example, states such as Texas and Florida may impose a more lenient standard of care in an emergency, recognizing that decisions generally need to be made quickly, and in these cases with limited information, the plaintiff must prove that the surgeon's treatment was not only negligent but also negligently negligent, i.e., in conduct This high standard of negligence for patient safety makes it more difficult pursue a medical malpractice claim involving emergency surgical errors successfully.

These revised standards acknowledge emergency medicine's unpredictability and chaotic nature but hold physicians liable for severe breaches of care. Patients and their families must attend outpatient surgeries well with an attorney who knows their state laws because these small legal protections can significantly affect the case outcome.

Prevention of Surgical Errors

Medical organizations, operating teams, and professionals must work together to prevent surgical errors. Some significant steps that should be used include:

Introduction of Checklists

Surgical checklists, like the WHO Surgical Safety Checklist, ensure the satisfaction of all checks at every stage, beginning with the preparation for surgery. In contrast, surgery is ongoing and after the surgery.

Improving Communication

Hospitals must promote an open, honest communication culture in which all medical team members can communicate across lines—team briefing before surgery and debriefing after may curb errors.

Adherence to SOPs

Adherence to standardized operating procedures and protocols helps reduce error risks. This includes rechecking identity, marking the surgical site, and sterilizing instruments and equipment. Continuous education.

The working surgeons and operating room staff should be continuously up-to-date regarding new techniques, technologies, and safety protocols.

That way, they would avoid errors caused by fatigue. Ensuring adequate rest periods for surgeons and medical teams without long consecutive surgeries would prevent fatigue.

You may also like: Medical Malpractice vs. Medical Negligence: What's the Difference?

Conclusion

Although rare surgical errors are preventable, they can be life-changing for patients. Understanding causes, consequences, and prevention strategies is essential for physicians and patients. If you or a loved one has suffered a surgical error, seeking legal advice from a malpractice attorney can be the first step toward justice and compensation. Working together, healthcare providers and patients can reduce these preventable tragedies and improve the overall quality of care.