Surgical Errors

Tulsa, Norman, Edmond, Oklahoma City, and McAlester, Oklahoma

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here are certain unavoidable risks involved in any surgery, but surgical error is not one of them. Some errors are difficult to recognize, but many such as wrong site surgery, are quite obvious. The physical injury caused by surgical error can be catastrophic. The cost of treatment required to survive and possibly recover can be financially devastating.

Those responsible for surgical error will often try to hide or deny their mistakes. It seems like common sense that hospitals and surgeons responsible for surgical errors would work to correct their mistakes free of charge or pay for the care that you need due to their error, but they do not.

Common surgical errors

Hospitals, surgeons and their staff have protocols to minimize the risk of making mistakes. Unfortunately these strict rules are not always followed leading to avoidable errors including:

Wrong site surgery
Nicking or cutting of tissue (such as arteries, nerves, organs, or muscle) that should not have been involved in the surgery
Items left inside of patient (such as gauze, sponges, or instruments)
Poor sanitation
Use of dirty instruments
Anesthesia errors
Failure to consider patient’s history when choosing to perform a procedure

Wrong site surgery

Wrong site surgery is surgery on the wrong body part. The results can be devastating, and in the process, you have not received the surgery that you needed. Wrong site surgery means that, at the very least, you will require a second surgery to accomplish the original goal. It can also mean losing a healthy organ or limb. If the wrong organ is removed the results can be life-long health problems or death.

Wrong site surgery is often the result of carelessness or miscommunication. It can happen if the wrong part of the body is marked for surgery or if the wrong patient is marked. When the wrong patient is marked there are often two victims, both marked for the other’s procedure.

Items left inside of a patient

Proper surgical procedure includes counting every item that is laid out for use before the surgery and then again before the patient is closed. Sponges, gauze, and even surgical instruments may be left inside your body if this important step is skipped. Items left in your body can cause extremely painful and even fatal infections and usually require a second surgery, while you are in a weakened state, to retrieve the item.

Consequences of surgical error

Injury caused by surgical error ranges from minor to fatal and can include:

Need for second surgery
Infection
Extended recovery time
Mild to severe pain
Brain injury
Spinal cord injury
Paralysis
Loss of limb or organ
Permanent disability
Birth injury
Coma
Death

If you have been the victim of surgical error obtaining the compensation that you need and deserve may be the only way that you can afford the treatment you need to survive. Please contact Stipe, Harper, Laizure, Uselton, Belote, Maxcey & Thetford today to schedule your free consultation in the McAlester, Oklahoma City, and Tulsa, Oklahoma area.

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McAlester Office
343 E. Carl Albert Pkwy.
McAlester, OK 74501

Phone: (918) 423-0421
or (800) 658-1596
Fax: (918) 423-0266

Oklahoma City Office
525 Central Park Dr., 101
Oklahoma City, OK 73105

Phone: (405) 524-2268
or (800) 299-7299
Fax: (405) 525-3231

Tulsa Office
2417 E. Skelly Dr.
Tulsa, OK 74170

Phone: (918) 749-0749
or (800) 798-2613
Fax: (918) 747-0751

Disclaimer: The information contained throughout this site is meant to generally inform the reader about our areas of practice, including surgical errors. This information is not meant to be taken as legal advice and nothing on this site establishes a lawyer / client relationship. Our accident lawyers provide legal assistance in the Tulsa area including Oklahoma City, McAlester and Norman, Oklahoma.