When you learned that you needed surgery, you probably worried about how long and painful the recovery process would take. You might have researched the surgeon to ensure they had a good success rate and checked that the hospital had good customer satisfaction ratings. However, you probably never imagined they might operate on the wrong area of your body.
If your surgeon operated on the wrong body part, our hard-working medical malpractice attorneys can help you fight back to hold negligent healthcare providers accountable for their mistakes. The Terre Haute attorneys at Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin can handle your wrong-site surgery malpractice claim.
Wrong-site malpractice occurs when a medical professional mistakenly performs surgery on the wrong body part. An example may be operating on the left knee when it should be the right knee. This form of medical malpractice can have catastrophic consequences, such as when a surgeon mistakenly amputates the wrong limb or removes a healthy kidney, leaving the patient with only a single diseased kidney.
Wrong-site surgery also occurs when a doctor performs a medical procedure on the wrong patient. This can cause unnecessary harm to one patient and lead to dangerous delays in care for another. Any delay in the treatment of a critical illness can cause a patient’s condition to worsen.
Patients in Terre Haute who experience wrong-site surgery malpractice can suffer devastating health consequences, psychological distress, unnecessary pain and suffering, and disfigurement or disability. Some patients need additional surgeries to correct the mistake, while others have permanent health complications that can never be fully fixed. Ongoing medical care, additional hospital stays, and extensive time away from work can lead to costly medical bills with no means to pay for them.
We know how to help. We can skillfully investigate what happened and help you seek reasonable compensation for the medical mistake.
All hospitals should have detailed procedures to prevent wrong-site and wrong-patient surgeries. Surgical staff members should perform safety checks before beginning operations. For instance, if the patient is awake and alert, most hospitals confirm the surgery with the patient and mark the intended body part.
A wrong patient or site mix-up can occur when hospitals incorrectly identify a patient, staff members fail to communicate effectively about the type of surgery they are performing, or when a hospital has a history of poor record-keeping. Examples include an overworked radiologist who is in a rush and makes a diagnostic mistake that a doctor then relies on in surgery, or an overburdened nurse mistakenly noting the wrong information in a patient’s chart.
Regardless of how the mistake occurred, you deserve help. Our skilled Terre Haute lawyers can work tirelessly to determine precisely how the wrong-site surgery error occurred and who is potentially to blame.
Wrong-site surgery malpractice in Terre Haute should never occur. Operating on the wrong body part or patient is a preventable error that can be avoided with reasonable hospital protocols and responsible care.
If your surgeon operated on the wrong site, you deserve justice. Contact our local personal injury lawyers at Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin today for help.
Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin
The financial burden that often comes with a serious injury can be too much for many people to bear. Unexpected medical debt, damaged personal property, and the sudden loss of income can impact the budgets of most families. The good news is that a successful injury claim could help reduce that financial strain after a serious accident. Get in touch with a Terre Haute personal injury lawyer with Fleschner, Stark, Tanoos & Newlin to learn more.
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