St. Louis Surgical Error Lawyer

Since most patients are not doctors, we must entrust our lives to the medical providers we task with our care. This is never more true than during surgery, when we are unconscious and incapacitated throughout the process. Sadly, surgical mistakes cause about 10% of reported harm to patients by medical malpractice, despite the stringent protocols in place to prevent these “never events” from occurring. If you or a close family member suffered an injury, worsened medical condition, or other adverse outcome due to a surgical error in St. Louis, you have a right to demand financial accountability. Call the St. Louis medical malpractice attorneys at Miller & Hine to learn about your rights and the options available to you under Missouri’s medical malpractice laws.

Why Choose Miller & Hine as Your Surgical Error Malpractice Law Firm?

For nearly five decades, the personal injury law firm of Miller & Hine has advocated for injury victims with a dedication to achieving the financial accountability and sense of justice they deserve when harmed by another party’s negligence, including in medical malpractice cases. With Miller & Hine, your surgical error case in St. Louis has the following advantages:

• Access to renowned medical experts and other crucial resources to support your case
• A personalized strategy based on the unique circumstances of your injury, adverse outcome, and individual economic and non-economic damages
• A dedication to professional excellence and compassionate representation
• A history of success that includes a recent $800,000 recovery in a client’s medical malpractice case

The St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers at Miller & Hine don’t charge upfront fees to injury victims. Instead, you can expect a free evaluation of your case during your initial consultation and then contingency-based payment, so you pay nothing until after your attorney secures compensation for you through a settlement or court award.

What Is a Surgical Error?

Surgery is the most invasive of medical procedures, resulting in permanent, irreversible changes to the body. The medical community lists some types of surgical errors as “Never Events” with protocols implemented to prevent these egregious errors from harming patients. The medical community describes surgical errors as follows: “…An unintentional, preventable injury occurring in the perioperative period that is not considered a known acceptable risk of surgery and could have been avoided by following appropriate procedure-specific training protocols.” Despite universal protocols in place to prevent errors, surgical mistakes and other types of medical malpractice are more common than you might think. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), one out of every 10 hospital patients suffers harm during their healthcare treatment.

What Types of Surgical Errors Occur In Missouri?

Despite the universal protocols in place to prevent egregious surgical errors, such errors still occur in St. Louis and elsewhere. The most common types of medical malpractice mistakes fall into the categories described below.

Wrong Site Surgery

When a surgeon performs a surgical procedure on the wrong portion of the patient’s body, such as removing a kidney instead of an infected appendix, it’s known as wrong-site surgery. Wrong-site surgeries happen due to administrative errors in patient records, during an error in the universal protocol requirement of pre-marking the surgical site, due to a surgical team’s mistake, or a negligent surgeon’s actions during the procedure.

Wrong Side Surgery

When a surgeon operates on the wrong side of a patient’s body, such as amputating the right limb instead of the left, it’s described as an egregious “never event.” Yet, this rare but catastrophic error still occurs.

Wrong Patient Surgery

Universal protocols include several required methods of identifying the patient before beginning surgery. Yet, wrong-patient surgery is a rare but devastating example of medical malpractice that occurs when a surgical team operates on the wrong patient. Administrative errors and negligence in patient identification protocols cause wrong-patient surgeries.

Surgical Implements Left Behind

Surgical protocols require an exhaustive accounting of all surgical tools, gauze, and other items before and after surgery to prevent foreign bodies from being left behind inside a patient’s body cavity after they are stitched closed following surgery. Still, the medical community has reported instances of surgical implements such as gauze, clamps, scalpels, scissors, and other tools left inside patients’ body cavities, where they cause injury, infection, and other adverse consequences.

Incidental Injury to Other Body Parts

When a surgeon makes a mistake during surgery, such as accidentally damaging a nearby bodily structure like a blood vessel, nerve, or another organ with their scalpel or other tools, the error can cause a serious injury and an adverse outcome.

Understanding Duty of Care In Medical Malpractice Cases

Most types of personal injury claims are based on the principle that we all owe a general duty of care to take reasonable measures to avoid causing harm to those around us; however, medical providers hold an enhanced duty of care to their patients. Proving negligence in medical malpractice cases, including in surgical error claims, requires evidence that demonstrates the following:

• A doctor/patient relationship was in place at the time that the malpractice occurred
• The medical provider owed a duty of care to the patient, requiring them to treat the patient at the medical community’s accepted level of care
• The medical provider breached their duty of care
• The breach of duty caused injury or harm to the patient
• The patient suffered economic and non-economic damages from the medical malpractice

Surgical errors are typically considered catastrophic injuries, with permanent impacts including the loss of organs or body parts and permanent scarring. In addition, most patients who suffer harm from surgical error require additional surgery to address the initial problem or to mitigate the harm caused by the mistake.

What Damages Can I Recover In a Surgical Error Malpractice Case In St. Louis?

When an error occurs during surgery, the impacts are physically, financially, and emotionally devastating. A successful surgical error claim cannot erase the harm, but it can recover compensation for common damages such as the following:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Past and future income loss
• Out-of-pocket expenses
• Pain and suffering
• Catastrophic injury damages such as loss of limb, organ loss, permanent scarring, disfigurement, loss of vision or hearing, loss of enjoyment of life, PTSD, or diminished quality of life

If a surgical error causes a fatality, family members can pursue compensation and justice through a medical malpractice wrongful death claim.

Call the St. Louis Surgical Error Attorneys at Miller & Hine

Medical malpractice claims are complex and challenging to prove, requiring experience, knowledge, and access to medical experts and other resources. Contact Miller & Hine to learn about your right to full and fair compensation after suffering the effects of a surgical error in St. Louis.