Surgical Error Lawsuits

When doctors make significant mistakes during surgery, it can cause serious harm. Many surgical errors are preventable, and when they happen, they can lead to a lawsuit against the doctor or hospital.

Experienced personal injury lawyers in Discovery Bay will help you understand your legal options, gather evidence, and pursue compensation for your injuries.

Understanding Surgical Errors

Surgical errors are significant mistakes made by doctors or nurses during an operation, which shouldn’t occur if everyone is doing their job correctly. 

Examples include: 

• Operating on the wrong body part, such as the left knee instead of the right
• Leaving objects inside the patient
• Making anesthesia errors
• Accidentally nicking or damaging an unintended area
• Not maintaining proper cleanliness, leading to infections

These errors can result from rushing, fatigue, mix-ups with patient information, or other carelessness, and they can cause severe problems for patients.

Recognizing the Consequences of Surgical Errors

Surgical errors can cause all sorts of problems for patients, including:

• More pain, where the patient might hurt a lot more than they should after surgery
• Having to stay in the hospital longer, which means greater bills and more time away from family and work
• Needing additional surgeries where doctors have to correct the mistake
• Infections, which can be life-threatening
• The irreversible loss of a body part
• Emotional and mental distress
• Increased medical bills
• In the worst cases, wrongful death

Establishing Medical Negligence in Surgical Error Cases

If you want to sue for a surgical error, you need to prove something called medical negligence. This means showing that the doctor didn’t meet the expected medical standard of care for a surgeon under the circumstances. 

You’ll need to prove:

• The doctor had a duty to take care of you, which is usually easy to show if you were their patient.
• The doctor didn’t do their job properly. You need to show that they made a mistake that a reasonable surgeon wouldn’t have made.
• The mistake hurt you. You have to prove that you were hurt because of what the doctor did wrong.
• The injury caused you problems, such as pain and suffering, medical bills, lost work, or other issues.

Proving all this can be hard. It’s not as simple as claims stemming from car accidents or similar incidents, since medical negligence cases usually require extensive expert analysis and testimony to prove. You need a medical malpractice attorney with resources and access to trusted experts who can support your claims that a surgeon did not meet their duty of care. 

Contact Our Discovery Bay Medical Malpractice Attorneys Now

If you think you’ve been hurt by a surgical error in Discovery Bay, talk to The Cartwright Law Firm medical malpractice attorneys by calling 415-433-0444 or contacting us online.

Our lawyers understand complex medical issues, gather crucial evidence, and determine if you have a strong case. We’ll handle all paperwork, negotiate with insurance companies, and represent you in court if needed. Remember, California law gives you a short time from discovering the mistake to file a lawsuit. Act today.