When patients see their doctors, they put their full trust in them. Sadly, surgical errors still occur in New York and around the country. This is considered one of the most preventable forms of medical malpractice.
How do surgical errors occur?
No one goes into a hospital to undergo a surgical procedure thinking that a mistake might happen. However, there are many horror stories about medical malpractice involving surgeries that result in an object being left inside the patient. Surgical errors are considered “never events” because they involve errors that should never happen.
There are different types of surgical errors that can occur. A patient could go into a hospital expecting one type of surgery but having a different procedure done.
Sometimes, the error involves the right type of surgery, but the procedure is performed on the wrong side of the body or wrong body part. In other instances, the surgery may even be done on the wrong patient. Any of these medical mistakes can have devastating results.
How can surgical errors be prevented?
Sadly, most surgical errors are preventable. One of the biggest reasons why these issues happen is because surgeons are human, too, and they work long hours often without sufficient breaks or rest. If a doctor goes into a surgery fatigued, they might make mistakes.
One way that this type of medical malpractice can be prevented is for the surgeon, anesthesiologist and other medical professionals to meet with the patient ahead of the procedure. It’s important for all the medical professionals involved to verify the patient’s basic and medical information and confirm the type of surgery they’re expecting and the specifics of it. Surgeons can better prepare by marking the surgical site before the procedure to prevent making a mistake once they have the patient in the operating room.
Surgical errors should never happen. When they do, they can seriously harm the patient.