Wrong Site Surgery Lawyer
If you are the victim in any kind of personal injury case, you need to contact a lawyer right away. There are many reasons you need to seek compensation in a medical malpractice case. One of the most important things in malpractice cases is making sure that the person who harmed you does not do this to anyone else. This is why, if you were the victim of a wrong site surgery, you need to reach out to an experienced wrong site surgery lawyer in Cleveland Ohio, like one from Mishkind Kulwicki Law Co., L.P.A. right away.
What Is Wrong Site Surgery?
Wrong site surgery is a medical error that should not happen, there is nothing to suggest that this is a medical risk that a patient must accept. Wrong site surgery mistakes are preventable as long as the standard of care is followed, and oftentimes when you are dealing with the wrong site surgery case you are dealing with the case that is tied directly to human error and a failure to adhere to nationally established procedures that help to avoid medical malpractice.
There is a three step process that is known informally as the universal protocol which was injured in 2003 by the Joint Commission, this universal procedure is meant to ensure that doctors are performing surgery on the right location. The process that is followed is essentially using markers designating where the surgeon should, and a checklist to ensure that everything marked is correct. Furthermore doctors or nurses are supposed to take a moment before cutting to ensure that everything is right and that they agree on the procedure that is being performed.
So the fact that we still have wrong site surgeries indicates that nurses and doctors are not following the procedure and ensuring they are cutting in the right patient, into the right site, and removing the correct body part.
Examples of Wrong Site Surgery
An example of a wrong site surgery is somebody having their left leg amputated, and when they come to the right leg is gone. Essentially the left leg would be marked with a cut here, and specific outlines of where the cut the type of imputation that has been performed is outlined. The patient may even opt to write do not cut this leg, do not cut here on the other leg that is not undergoing operation. Sometimes the wrong procedure in the wrong patient or other complications that are based around wrong site surgery.
In 2010 93 cases of wrong site surgery were reported to the Joint Commission, to the 49 last reported in 2004. So while more and more cases are being reported oftentimes these types of medical errors are going to go under reported, but it is believed that at least 10% of all medical malpractice surgeries are wrong site surgeries.
Another issue that is being pinpointed by a number of studies is that hospital staff are not only marking the wrong side of the body, they are also not checking that they are in with the correct patient. Many patients believe they should trust the hospital staff that is dealing with their body, especially if they are undergoing a surgery they know nothing about. This is again, preventable because according to patient safety Authority healthcare providers can ask the patient for their name, birthdate and other identifying information, the can double check the patient has the correct ID bracelet, they can inquire the surgery to patient is having a which side of the body, they can continue to chart correctly and double check their charts when they are performing surgeries and much more.
Holding the Other Party Accountable
As we mentioned above, it is crucial in a case like this to hold the at-fault party accountable for their actions. If a surgeon performed an operation in the wrong place, he or she needs to answer to this. It could have been due to carelessness in medical documents that the surgeon received from other doctors. If this is the case, both the other medical professionals and the surgeon need to be held accountable. There is absolutely no excuse to perform surgery on the wrong body part, as surgeries are serious procedures that should never be taken lightly. If there were any questions at all, the surgeon should have reached out to another doctor to determine what needed to be done.
It is up to you to make sure you get compensation for any injuries sustained and the pain and suffering you have been through because of this traumatic event. You also hold the power to hopefully ensure that something like this does not happen to anyone else, at least at the hands of the same surgeon who performed your operation. By suing the at-fault party, not only can you get compensation for your damages, but you will also hopefully make him or her think twice before making the same mistake on someone else. There may be an investigation conducted into your medical professional’s license, which will be another good preventative measure.
Getting Compensation for Your Injuries
Surgery can be difficult to recover from, and if you need to get it twice because your medical professional performed surgery on the wrong body part, that increases the risks associated with it. You deserve monetary compensation not only for the procedures that you need, but also for the trauma that this has put you through. An experienced wrong site surgery lawyer in Cleveland, OH from Mishkind Kulwicki Law Co., L.P.A. will be able to determine what is fair and how much compensation a judge may grant you. He or she can also figure out what damages to seek in your case. For example, there may be damages for lost wages due to missed work, pain and suffering caused, and even to punish the at-fault party in hopes that they will not make this mistake again. Your lawyer will be able to give you advice on how to proceed. Contact our law firm today to set up a free consultation and learn more.