Top Three Preventable Surgical Mistakes

When a surgical mistake happens to a patient, the patient can suffer long-term and even lifetime debilitating damages. Life can be changed permanently with just one mistake in the operating room. This is why medical professionals like surgeons take an oath to do no harm. Their jobs are so critical that every decision they make can have great consequences for the patients they operate on.

In Ohio, victims of surgical mistakes can take legal action against the medical provider that caused them harm by way of filing a medical malpractice claim. Even though medical malpractice claims are some of the most difficult civil suits to be successful with, when medical malfeasance happens, victims deserve to be compensated for their losses. 

If you believe that you were harmed by a medical provider or if you have a loved one that may have suffered from a medical malpractice incident, the Cincinnati medical malpractice attorney at The Green Law Firm can help you with your claim.

Avoidable Surgical Mistakes

It is very important that when a patient comes into the operating room that all procedures and guidelines are followed to keep the patient safe from harm. This includes making sure that everyone knows who the patient is, what type of surgical procedure they are having, and what the surgical location is on the patient’s body. Still, surgical mistakes that result in great harm to patients happen quite regularly. 

According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, even when all protocols are followed errors will still occur. When the AHRQ analyzed three million operations from 1985 through 2004, it was concluded that even with complete adherence to universal safety practices only prevent 62% of the errors that were reported during this timeframe would have been avoided.

The top three categories where surgical mistakes happen all-too-often include:

Surgeries on the Wrong Patient

Despite the necessity for patients to have their identifying information checked before being operated on, every year wrong patient surgeries happen. This is when a person ready for a surgical procedure is administered one but it was not the one they were scheduled for.

Wrong Site Surgeries

If you were told before a surgical procedure that surgeons operating in the United States will perform procedures on the wrong body part 40 times per week, would you still subject your body to going under the knife? Wrong-site surgeries happen when a surgical procedure is not conducted on the correct part of the body, but instead, on a part that did not require the surgery. For example, if a patient needed to have their left leg amputated, but the surgeon amputated the right leg, this is a serious problem.

Wrong Procedures

Here, an incorrect surgical procedure is performed on a patient.

No patient should have to endure harm because of a surgical error that could be avoided. These individuals can count on the Cincinnati injury attorney at The Green Law Firm for help pursuing compensation.

Speak with an Ohio Medical Malpractice Attorney Today

After a medical malpractice event, please connect with the Ohio medical malpractice attorney at The Green Law Firm. You can schedule a free consultation by calling (513) 769-0840.