Anesthesia Errors are a Form of Medical Malpractice

This video brought to you by AskTheLawyers.com™

AskTheLawyers™

Ask A Lawyer

Attorney Michael Perez | 888-981-5602 | Free Consult

“Unfortunately, anesthesia errors… tend to be more of a catastrophic kind.”

If your medical team makes a mistake while administering anesthesia, it can have long-lasting complications. If the anesthesiologist isn’t monitoring you closely, they might overlook a problem, which could cause lifelong damages or worse. If you or a loved one have suffered an injury due to anesthesia errors, it’s a good idea to contact an attorney.

Michael Perez is an injury attorney based in Atlanta, Georgia, with Warshauer Law Group, P.C. In this interview, he explains all the potential complications that could arise involving anesthesia, and what you should do if something went wrong during surgery.

To learn more, contact the attorney directly by calling 888-981-5602 or by submitting a contact form on this page. There is no charge for the consultation, and you never owe any out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Key Takeaways From Michael Perez:

Medical malpractice occurs when the exercise of medical judgment is done negligently, causing injury or damage to the patient. This includes failing to provide a reasonable degree of skill and care to a patient.

Risks of anesthesia

Inherent risks exist whenever a person goes into surgery, and anesthesia itself holds its own potential complications. While some procedures may have poor outcomes through no fault of the medical team, complications or injuries due to anesthesia are often the result of medical malpractice.

Some common errors medical malpractice attorneys see in anesthesia cases include:

  • Dosage errors: If too much anesthesia is delivered before or during surgery, it could slow your breathing, preventing sufficient oxygen from spreading through your body and powering your heart. Too little anesthesia could cause you to regain consciousness during the operation, a horrifying occurrence known as anesthesia awareness.
  • Delayed delivery: If anesthesia is not delivered on time, or if it’s stopped too soon, the patient may be able to feel and remember parts of the surgery, as well as potentially creating other complications for the patient’s health and the medical team.
  • Failure to monitor: One of the jobs of the anesthesia team is to monitor the patient throughout the surgery to make sure the anesthesia is effective, and no complications are arising in regard to the consistency of dosage and most importantly the patient’s breathing.
  • Intubation errors: When under anesthesia, the body is no longer able to breathe for itself. This means that before anesthetic can even be applied, intubation must occur to ensure the patient will be able to get the oxygen they need during the operation. If intubation is done improperly, it can cause major complications.
  • Anesthesia awareness: When anesthesia is not administered effectively, the patient may feel pain and discomfort during part or all of the surgery. Unfortunately, patients experiencing this are unable to communicate what is happening to their medical team. This can be extremely traumatic and may influence a patient not to seek further medical care even if it is needed.

Anesthesia errors can have catastrophic and long-lasting effects.

Due to complications with anesthesia, a patient may suffer a heart attack, asphyxia, coma, or even death. Death due to anesthesia usually occurs from a lack of oxygen, which can occur from a variety of the errors discussed above.

The anesthesiologist is generally responsible for all errors, but there may be others involved.

Anesthesiologists will often be assisted by nurse anesthetists, also called CRNAs. If this is the case, while the CRNA may still be held partially responsible, it is still the responsibility of the more experienced surgeon or anesthesiologist present to recognize and address the errors. If they do not, they may culpable as well.

It costs nothing to speak with an attorney and find out if you have a case.

Most medical malpractice attorneys work on contingency, this means no out-of-pocket costs for you. In fact, if they don’t win your case, they don’t get paid. Your goal after an event like this should be seeking healing and compensation for you or your loved one. Consultations are free, and medical malpractice attorneys are ready to help you however they can.

To learn more, contact Michael Perez directly by calling 888-981-5602 or by submitting a contact form on this page. There is no charge for the consultation, and you never owe any out-of-pocket attorney fees.

Disclaimer: This video is for informational purposes only. In some states, this video may be deemed Attorney Advertising. The choice of lawyer is an important decision that should not be based solely on advertisements.

Legal Disclaimer: This website is for informational purposes only. Use of this website does not constitute an attorney-client relationship. Information entered on this website is not confidential. This website has paid attorney advertising. Anyone choosing a lawyer must do their own independent research. By using this website, you agree to our additional Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.