When someone elects to have surgery, they know there are certain risks involved. If a competent medical professional is following the proper standards of care, these risks will be explained in detail prior to surgery.
Risks can include complications that may occur, pain that might remain, and explicit post-operative care instructions once returning home.
When errors occur outside of the risks the patient was aware of — and could have been prevented — the patient may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim.
You may be able to sue for failed surgery if a doctor’s surgical errors caused you or a loved one serious injury or death due to negligence.
Do you believe you have a valid medical malpractice claim due to a failed surgery? We will discuss the grounds for your potential case, who to sue, and what your next steps will be to receive the compensation you deserve for your suffering.
Are surgical errors considered medical malpractice?
Occasionally, things go wrong during surgery due to circumstances outside of the surgeon’s control. However, when a failed surgery occurs, this means an error was made that could have been prevented.
A medical professional may cause an error due to negligence or failure to act. If another doctor performing the same surgery, under the same circumstances would not have made this error, the standards of care have been violated and you may have a medical malpractice claim.
Examples of surgical errors include the following:
- Operating on the wrong body part
- Performing unnecessary surgery
- Leaving surgical equipment inside the body
- Administering anesthesia incorrectly
- Injuring a nerve
- Puncturing an organ or blood vessel
- Performing the wrong surgery on the wrong patient
- Using unclean instruments, resulting in infection
To prove you have a medical malpractice case, a medical expert would have to decide if the doctor or other medical staff took action that violated the standards of care.
Do I have a valid medical malpractice claim?
For a medical malpractice claim to be valid, there are several layers of laws and requirements you must discuss with a trusted attorney. Start with these basic items to discover if you might have a case:
- Was the doctor treating you directly? A patient-physician relationship must exist. In the case of surgery, this is easy to prove. If however, for example, you received incorrect medical advice from a doctor at a party, they were not treating you directly.
- Was the standard of care violated? Patients have the right to expect that doctors and other medical professionals will perform care according to these standards. If the standards are not met, this can establish negligence.
- Did the doctor’s negligence result in injury? Patients have to prove that the professional’s negligence directly caused injury. For example, a doctor leaving a surgical instrument in your body during surgery directly caused harm by not allowing you a healthy and normal recovery.
- Did the injury result in significant damages? Patients must prove their injuries resulted in pain, disability, mental anguish, loss of income, or significant medical bills, which can apply both in the past and in the future.
Bringing these items to a lawyer who has experience and success with medical malpractice cases will help them determine if you have a case. They will also likely need to bring on medical experts to testify on your behalf.
Do I have a case?
What do I do first?
The first step to sue for failed surgery is to find a lawyer. The right lawyer will immediately show you compassion and respect, and they can provide you with direct examples and successes related to your possible case.
The bold, respected Medical Malpractice Team at Grover Lewis Johnson is built on 25 years of experience and a mission rooted in compassion and honesty. We provide free consultations, and won’t charge any fees until we win your case.
We are genuinely interested in our clients, and when you work with us you will have our full attention. If your claim has merit, we will build you a fearless case to get you the best possible results.
Call us today to speak with our team and schedule a free consultation. Although nothing can take away the pain you have experienced, you deserve proper compensation for your suffering.