Surgeries are an integral part of the American medical system. According to the National Center for Health Statistics, there are upwards of 50 million surgical procedures performed in the United States. They help cure serious injuries and can change a patient’s life for the better, or for the worse. Although many surgeries are successful, people may not realize how often these surgeries can go wrong. Surgical injuries are far more common than people would like to believe. In your most vulnerable medical moments, you should not have to worry about suffering even greater injury than before. When you agree to undergo a serious surgery, you put all of your trust in the hands of surgeons. If anything goes wrong, the hospital and surgeon is almost always at fault.
What is a surgical injury?
There are a lot of complications that can occur in any surgery, and not all qualify you for compensation. The key to understanding surgical injury cases is negligence. If the injury occurred by a mistake caused by negligent conduct on the part of either the surgeons or the hospital, then your injury is entirely their responsibility. The bottom line is that surgeons and hospital staff are humans, and are prone to making mistakes. However, if these mistakes prove to be costly and you suffer at their expense, you may have a good chance at winning a lawsuit.
What are some examples of surgical injuries that may qualify me for compensation?
Every surgical injury case is different, but there are some commonalities among surgical injuries that point to negligence. Some of the most common examples of a negligent surgical injury are (but not limited to):
- Wrong dosage of anesthesia
- Cutting arteries or nerves
- Performing the wrong procedure
- Foreign objects, such as medical tools, being left inside the body
- Mixing up patients
Although they vary in their severity, surgical injuries can have serious consequences, anywhere from nerve damage to death. These injuries usually cause further hospital care, long-term medical care, physical therapy, and can cause you to lose precious time away from work. In other words, they are costly. Not only do they pose a serious threat to your body, they also pose a serious threat to your paycheck.
Why should I hire a lawyer?
It should come as no surprise that medical expenses in the United States are extremely costly. Nobody should have to worry about the financial burden that a surgical injury poses. In the midst of physical trauma and legal paperwork, professional legal counsel may be able to help you sort through the complications of your injury smoothly and make sure large hospitals do not keep you from getting your fair compensation.
If you or someone you love has suffered from a surgical injury, do not hesitate to reach out to Cohen & Cohen, a trusted law firm serving the Washington DC, Virginia, Maryland, and nearby areas, which specializes in surgical injury law. Call us today and we will be more than happy to set you up with a skilled surgical injury lawyer on our team.
