Are Surgical Errors Common in the U.S.?

Put yourself in this situation—your loved one goes in for surgery to treat a non-life threatening ailment—only he or she dies because of errors made by the doctor.

This occurs more than you may think. Sadly, about 4,000 ‘never events’ occur during surgeries in the U.S. each year, leading to patient deaths and injuries. Never events can include instances when instruments like sponges are left behind in patients, when the wrong procedure is performed, when the wrong site is operated on and/or when a doctor performs an operation so poorly that he or she does something like severs an artery.

Interestingly, a Johns Hopkins University study found that each week, a surgeon in the U.S. leaves a foreign object inside a patient’s body after an operation about 39 times, performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times and operates on the wrong body site 20 times.

These numbers are frightening. Keep in mind, surgical errors are a form of medical malpractice. If you have experienced a surgical complication or your loved one has died because of negligence, speaking to an attorney may be in your best interest.

Remember, you can hold a healthcare provider liable if it harms you.

Beaumont Woman Sues Surgeon Following Mother’s Death

We bring up surgical errors because we recently read a story about a Beaumont woman who has filed a lawsuit against a doctor, alleging the wrongful death of her mother while in his care.

The woman says that her mother was in the care of Dr. Michael T. Oszcakiewicz, of Beaumont, in 2012, when he lacerated her right ventricle by using a saw to open her sternum during an operation. The woman was allegedly in good health, with a normal life expectancy, according to the lawsuit.

The victim’s daughter is seeking damages for personal pain and suffering and the loss of parental support.

Contacting an Attorney Following a Surgical Error

As we noted above, it may be wise to speak to an attorney if you are injured because of medical malpractice or if your loved one is killed. An attorney can investigate your case and determine if you are entitled to damages through his or her knowledge and expert skill.

Remember, malpractice cases can be extremely complex and require substantial amounts of time and resources to investigate. You will want to make sure you have expert representation. Aside from surgical errors, other forms of medical malpractice can include birth injuries, misdiagnosis and drug errors.

The Law Offices of Aaron Allison – Austin Personal Injury Attorney

[Did You Know? About 15 percent of hospitals use sponges with tracking devices to help avoid medical malpractice events.]

Source: http://setexasrecord.com/news/302264-daughter-sues-cardiac-surgeon-in-mothers-death