Anesthesia error is one of the greatest fears for surgical patients. It is rare, but it can turn a routine procedure into a deadly one, or cause life-changing complications. Anytime that anesthesia is used, there is some risk, even if it is just a local anesthesia. However, medical error is not an accepted risk of anesthesia. If you have been injured, it can be hard to differentiate an anesthesia error from the results of a known risk, and your doctor may not be forthcoming about what really went wrong. An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help.
Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia injuries are not always the result of medical malpractice, but anesthesia errors are malpractice. Examples include:
- Failure to give patient proper pre-operative instructions such as when to stop eating and drinking prior to surgery
- Overdose or under dose
- Drug interactions
- Allergic reaction, when medical history indicates allergy
- Intubation error
- Injection error
- Delayed delivery of anesthesia
- Failure to fully monitor the patient before, during, and after the procedure
- Failure to properly administer oxygen
- Improper or inadequate administration of fluids and electrolytes
- Prolonged sedation
- Equipment failure
- Unsanitary conditions
Anesthesia Error Injuries
Anesthesia errors can be fatal. Those who survive can suffer permanent injuries. Even in cases where a full physical recovery is achieved, the psychological damage can cause victims to avoid necessary surgical procedures in the future, jeopardizing their health.
Anesthesia injuries can include:
- Trachea injury
- Infection
- Meningitis
- Asphyxia
- Brain injury
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Spinal cord injury
- Birth injury
- Nerve injury
- Paralysis
- Tissue death
- Amputation
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Coma
- Death
To learn more about anesthesia errors and your legal rights, please contact us so we can connect you with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in your state.
