People who need to have a surgical procedure done should ensure they work with a surgeon who’s well trained and reputable. For planned or elective surgeries, it’s possible to check out the surgeon and make an informed decision. This isn’t possible when the surgery is an emergency.
One thing that patients hope will never happen to them is finding out that the surgeon operated on the wrong part of their body. Wrong-site surgery leaves the problem that led to the need for surgery unaddressed, and it introduces an unnecessary procedure on another part of the body.
How serious are wrong-site surgeries?
All wrong-site surgeries should be viewed as devastating events. Some might seem worse than others. For example, it’s easy to view a wrongfully amputated body part as much more serious than a knee replacement being done on the wrong knee. The fact here is that patients in both cases face the prospect of having major problems in the future because of the surgical error.
Surgical teams must have proper protocols in place to ensure they’re handling procedures correctly. Taking timeouts before the surgery to verify that they’re doing the correct surgery on the proper patient and in the right spot is important. When this doesn’t happen or other errors are made, patients can suffer grave harm.
Anyone who’s the victim of medical malpractice, including having a wrong-site surgery, should ensure they get medical care to address the issues that are present because of that malpractice. This can be a costly endeavor. Seeking compensation through a medical malpractice case can help the victim to recover the damages they’re dealing with because of the issue. It’s also a chance to hold the doctor accountable for their negligence. Florida laws set limits for the amount of time you have to get this case started, so be sure to act quickly.