Getting surgery is already foreboding enough. The thought that a surgeon or other medical professional could make a dangerous or even deadly mistake during surgery is especially frightening. Unfortunately, surgical mistakes do happen. When a person is injured because a negligent surgeon or other medical staff member makes an avoidable mistake, the injured person may be left with devastating and often painful consequences. Some surgical errors result in the death of the patient. When medical malpractice results in a patients’ death, the surviving family of the deceased person may choose to bring a wrongful death lawsuit against the practitioner or facility.

Surgical Mistakes Happen at Alarming Frequency

Studies have shown that outrageous surgical mistakes are made at very disturbingly high rates. One study showed that in an average week in the United States, surgeons:

• Perform the wrong surgical procedure on a patient 20 times.
• Leave an object such as a towel, surgical sponge, or medical tool inside of a patient’s body 39 times.
• Operate on the wrong part of the body 20 times.

On average, over 4,000 preventable errors happen during surgery every year in the U.S. These mistakes result in more than one billion dollars in medical malpractice payouts to the injured patients or families of deceased patients. Other common surgical errors which can be detrimental to a patient’s health include incorrect operating plans or techniques, anesthesia errors, post-surgical infections, and c-section mistakes that lead to birth injuries. A victim of a major surgical error could be left with loss of the use of his or her limbs, brain damage, serious infections, and severe pain and suffering.

The birth of a child should be one of the best experiences of a new parent’s life. However, when medical malpractice or negligence is a factor during an infant’s birth, the results can be tragic. Birth injuries can result in years or even a lifetime of expensive and often painful medical procedures and ongoing medical care. If your child was injured during his or her birth due to medical negligence, you may be eligible for financial compensation.

Types of Injuries That Can Occur During Birth

Birth injuries can occur during several different states of the delivery process. Some of the most common birth injuries include:

• Cerebral palsy
• Erb's palsy
• Nerve damage including brachial plexus Injuries (BPI)
• Perinatal asphyxia (lack of oxygen which can cause permanent neurological damage)
• Bone fractures
• Umbilical cord entrapment;
• Forceps or vacuum injuries
• Facial paralysis

Damages for Birth Injuries

Through a personal injury suit, the parents of children who have suffered birth injuries may be able to receive compensation for damages caused by the injury. Economic damages most often include medical bills, future medical expenses, lost wages, and caretaking expenses. Noneconomic damages are much more subjective than economic damages and can include compensation for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of a normal life, shortened life expectancy, and more.

While most doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other healthcare providers are competent to provide quality medical care, medical mistakes do happen. In fact, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that medical negligence is the third-leading cause of death in the United States. In 2012 alone, over $3 billion dollars was spent in payouts for medical malpractice lawsuits.

Medical errors can affect all types of patients. In fact, the family of acclaimed astronaut Neil Armstrong believes that the 82-year-old’s death was a result of medical negligence. Until recently, this information had been kept secret, but now details about the case are emerging.

Family Says Hospital Caused Armstrong’s Death

Astronaut Neil Armstrong has had an incredible life to say the least. In addition to being the first man to walk on the moon, he also fought in the Korean War, won the Congressional Space Medal of Honor, and had three children. Armstrong’s family, however, says that his incredible life came to an end too soon. Armstrong developed coronary disease and required bypass surgery in 2012. He made it through the surgery but then developed complications which eventually caused his death.

When couples cannot conceive a child traditionally, they often turn to in vitro fertilization (IVF). Through this process, an egg and sperm are combined in the laboratory and then the resulting embryo is implanted in the woman’s uterus. This option can be a wonderful solution for many couples. However, the IVF process does not always go according to plan. One couple who turned to IVF was recently horrified to learn that a mix up led to their embryo being implanted in another woman and that they were carrying children from another couple. The couple says they plan to sue the fertility clinic who made the grievous medical error.

Embryo’s from Three Couples Were Implanted in the Wrong Women

When a couple chooses to use IVF to have a baby, they are likely to have many concerns. Will the procedure result in a viable embryo? Will the pregnancy go smoothly? Will the child be healthy? Most couples, however, would not even dream that medical negligence could lead to something as outrageous as what several IVF couples are now facing.

The mistake was first discovered after a Korean-American woman gave birth to twins who were not the gender she expected nor were they of Asian descent. In fact, the babies were not even genetically related to one another. The woman had actually given birth to babies belonging to two other couples. The other couples were equally devastated to learn that another woman had carried their children.

The medical advances our society has achieved in the last few decades have allowed people to overcome injuries and illnesses that would have certainly been fatal in the past. Many of these advancements involve invasive surgical procedures. Getting surgery almost always involves certain risks, but some of these risks are avoidable and completely unacceptable. When an avoidable surgical error is made during an operation, the results can be catastrophic. Surgeons, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals can be held legally responsible when these types of medical mistakes result in the death or injury of a patient. 

Understanding When a Medical Professional Has Committed Medical Negligence

Sometimes problems and complications occur during surgery due to no fault of the medical staff conducting the operation. Just because a surgical procedure fails to produce the desired result does not mean medical negligence has occurred. Generally, medical negligence is defined as when substandard medical care leads to some type of harm to the patient.

Some surgical errors are so preventable that they are called “never events” meaning that these particular mistakes should never happen. Never events include mistakes like leaving a surgical instrument inside a patient's body, performing surgery on the wrong body part, and performing the wrong surgical procedure on a patient. These types of mistakes often lead to medical malpractice claims.