The smallest anesthesia mistakes can cause severe injuries or even death.
When we think of medical malpractice and surgical errors, we often think of the surgeon themselves making some sort of mistake during the procedure. However, the anesthesiologist plays a vital role in ensuring that the surgery goes smoothly. Here is what you need to know about anesthesia mistakes.
The Procedure
Before we get into anesthesia mistakes, it is important to understand the procedure and itself and the role that anesthesiologists play in a surgery. Often times, during a surgery, anesthesiologists will put the patient in either an unconscious or semi-conscious state so that they do not feel any of the pain. It is their responsibility to administer the right dosage so that the patient is sedated for the entire procedure, while also managing their vital signs and oxygen intake.
Potential Anesthesia Mistakes
A family typically doesn’t find out about these mistakes until after a serious problem or even death has occurred as a result. Here are a few of the possible anesthesia mistakes that can be made as a result of medical negligence:
- Failure to properly intubate: The anesthesiologist intubates a patient during surgery in order to help them breath throughout the procedure. Failure to do this correctly could result in the patient not being able to breathe and serious injury can occur as a result.
- Failure to monitor: Throughout the entire procedure, the anesthesiologist must monitor the patient’s consciousness level and their other vital signs. If they aren’t monitoring this throughout, the patient could suffer brain injuries or even wrongful death.
- Mistake in dosage: Each procedure and each patient requires a different anesthesia dosage. Factors like the length of the surgery and the weight of the patient make a difference in determining the correct dosage. A mistake in dosage could cause the patient to wake up in the middle of their surgery or could cause their vitals to go down if too much is given.
Potential Injuries
The damage that can be done as a result of anesthesia mistakes varies depending on the mistake itself and how quickly it was responded to. The most common injuries that can occur as a result of anesthesia mistakes are:
- Tracheal damage: This occurs as a result of intubation errors
- Asphyxia: Lack of oxygen
- Cardiovascular Injury: This can include heart attacks or stroke as a result of a mistaken dosage or failure to monitor a patient
- Traumatic brain Injury
- Coma
- Wrongful Death
Have You Or A Loved One Suffered Injuries From An Anesthesia Mistake? Contact The Snyder Law Group Today
The Snyder Law Group, LLC, proudly represents clients throughout Maryland and Washington, D.C. Our experienced Baltimore attorneys understand the frustration that comes with an insurance company, medical professional, or other party that refuses to accept liability for negligent or reckless behavior. You can take heart in knowing there are talented and experienced lawyers ready to work for you. We are experienced in handling personal injury claims of medical malpractice or injury resulting from serious car and truck accidents, and have secured hundreds of millions in verdicts settlements*. Please visit our website,www.410thefirm.com, for more information and follow us on Facebook,Twitter, Google +, and LinkedIn.