Anesthesia Errors

There is perhaps no scarier thought prior to undergoing an operation than waking up during your surgery due to an error made by a doctor. Such nightmares do occur, and one study accessed through the National Institute of Health showed a full 89 percent of anesthesiologists in New Zealand admitted in a survey to making some type of medication mistake during their careers. If you suffered due to an anesthesia error, contact the Boston medical malpractice attorneys at Altman & Altman LLP today to get started on a malpractice suit.

Anesthesia refers to a medically-induced state which relaxes the body and enables a surgeon to perform an operation on a patient without the patient feeling pain or remembering the procedure happening once they wake up. Anybody who has ever had surgery can attest to the wonder that is anesthesia – one minute you’re counting backwards from 10, and then in what seems to be an instant, hours have passed and you have undergone a surgical procedure.

Administering anesthesia can be complicated and can vary patient to patient, which is why there is an entire profession dedicated to being able to properly administer anesthesia to patients. Anesthesiologists may utilize many different methods to partially numb a patient for a procedure or fully put them under, which is known as general anesthesia.

Types of Anesthetic Malpractice

The most common way anesthesiologists make a medical malpractice mistake is by administering too much of an anesthetic drug, which can result in symptoms as minor as dizziness following the procedure to as serious as critical organ failure, nerve damage, seizures, strokes and comas or death.

On the flip side of the coin, anesthesiologists may administer too little of the anesthetic, resulting in a patient not being fully put under the effects prior to surgery. In the most horrifying cases, a patient will be numbed enough not to be able to move or talk, but not numb enough to mitigate the sensation of pain associated with a surgery. These types of malpractice errors can cause serious psychological trauma and PTSD in patients who essentially underwent an entire surgery trapped in a stasis-like shock, feeling every painful second.

Other examples of malpractice involving anesthesia include a doctor not checking for possible allergies in the patient, failing to inform a patient about restricting their food and liquid intake prior to surgery, failing to warn the patient against taking certain prescription drugs prior to surgery, delaying the delivery of anesthesia or using the wrong kind of drug for that patient, or using a malfunctioning piece of equipment which harms the patient.

Get Started on a Medical Malpractice Suit

Enduring an error made by a doctor in a state of vulnerability, such as during a necessary surgery, is an incredibly life-altering event which can result in physical and mental harm. Doctors have a responsibility to ensure that they are safely operating on their patients, and that they have done everything possible to prevent mistakes which can be prevented.

Whether a doctor failed to perform due diligence in instructing their patient on how to prepare for surgery, failed to perform their job correctly by administering incorrect doses of anesthetic or harmed you through another means of malpractice, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your pain and suffering at the hands of the doctor’s negligence.

At Altman & Altman LLP, we have over 50 years of experience in Boston, Cambridge and throughout Massachusetts, which is home to some of the finest medical facilities in the world. To be able to prove negligence was responsible for an anesthetic error, you need a team of experienced professionals. That is exactly what we can provide, and we can get started on your case right away.

Call for a free consultation today at 617.492.3000 or toll-free at 800.481.6199. We are available 24/7.