Undergoing medical procedures is stressful, even under ideal circumstances. No matter the type or extent of the procedure, it is normal to be anxious and worried about the outcome of your care. When Americans go to the doctor to seek guidance and treatment, they trust that the medical professionals who are looking after them know what they are doing and will correct or treat any health issue. However, mistakes are sometimes made, and a provider may ultimately cause more harm than good.
If you’ve been affected by a medical mistake or another form of medical negligence, you may feel overwhelmed and betrayed by the professional you chose to trust with your health, well-being, and life. When medical mistakes happen, those responsible must be held accountable.
One of the most common medical mistakes made in the U.S. involves anesthesia. While anesthesia is a valuable tool in surgeries and medical treatments, substantial harm can occur if it is not utilized precisely. Depending on the degree of miscalculation or mistake, an anesthesia error may leave you with severe and debilitating medical conditions that will last a long time. This article will discuss what medical malpractice is, how the use of anesthesia relates to medical malpractice, and what to do if you have suffered harm due to anesthesia-related medical malpractice.
Skilled West Virginia Medical Malpractice Representation
Doctors and other healthcare providers perform a vital service. As a result, they are held to a certain standard of care. When a provider fails to provide that standard of care and a patient suffers harm, the provider may be held accountable for that breach of conduct. If you either know or suspect that you are a victim of medical malpractice, it can be challenging to know what to do, however.
If you have suffered harm as a result of a medical provider’s actions or inactions, it is essential that you hire an experienced medical malpractice attorney to represent your interests. Medical malpractice cases are complex, and they have a wide range of elements and issues that must be proven to succeed on the merits of your claim. An experienced medical malpractice attorney understands what needs to be done to better ensure that you receive the full compensation to which you’re rightfully entitled. The Charleston injury attorneys at Salango Law know what is at stake in medical malpractice cases and are ready to aggressively represent your interests. To schedule a no-risk, confidential, free legal consultation, call us at (681) 201-4715 or visit our website today.
Anesthesia
Anesthesia is a medically induced state administered by medical professionals during surgeries and other medical procedures to minimize patient movement and reduce pain, awareness, and distress caused by such procedures. Various methods achieve this state, generally through the administration of specific drugs. Anesthesia may be applied in several ways depending on the type of surgery or medical procedure. Methods of anesthesia include:
- General: application of a drug or other anesthetic procedure that results in full body effects or loss of consciousness
- Regional: anesthesia provided to a specific area of the body, like a leg or arm
- Local: numbing or reducing feeling in a small area, as in a procedure to remove a skin tag or benign mole
No matter the method or scope of anesthesia, if it is not administered correctly, you may suffer from unnecessary pain or discomfort or come out of the procedure with additional medical issues. To become an anesthesiologist, a doctor must have extensive education, training, and experience. As a result, anesthesiologists are held to a specific standard of care in applying and administering anesthesia to their patients.
Methods Of Anesthesia Misapplication
Due to the complexity and difficulty of anesthesiology, it is easy to incorrectly or improperly administer anesthesia. As a result, if even a slight mistake is made, you could experience severe and debilitating pain or medical complications. Common anesthesia issues include:
- Using faulty medical equipment to administer the anesthesia
- Failing to identify and mitigate the anesthesia’s interactions with other medications or bodily functions
- Using the wrong kind of anesthesia
- Administering less anesthesia than necessary
- Administering more anesthesia than necessary
- Failing to provide sufficient oxygen supply to the patient while performing surgery
- Failing to monitor patient vitals while under anesthesia during surgery
- Administering anesthesia at the wrong time or later than required
If any of these anesthesia issues occur during surgery, you may experience additional pain or suffering during or after the surgery or experience new medical challenges.
Effects Of Anesthesia Maladministration
If any of these issues occurred during a recent surgery, you might face serious medical consequences. Depending on the particular error with the application of anesthesia you experienced, the medical consequences may vary. Possible medical issues resulting from anesthesia maladministration include:
- Coma
- Death
- Seizures
- Stroke
- Malignant hyperthermia
- Congenital disabilities (if you were pregnant when receiving anesthesia)
- Blood pressure issues
- Spinal cord damage
- Cardiovascular collapse
- Dizziness or blurred vision
- Nerve damage
- Vein or artery damage
Proving Medical Malpractice Resulting From Anesthesia Maladministration
For a medical malpractice claim to be successful, you and your medical malpractice attorney must show that the doctor was negligent, reckless, or acting in an intentionally dangerous way when they administered the anesthesia. In West Virginia, medical malpractice occurs when a doctor does something in the course of treating a patient that a reasonably careful and competent physician would not do, and the patient is harmed as a result.
Malpractice may also occur if a doctor did not do something they should have done while treating a patient. It’s likely that to succeed in a lawsuit, you’ll need to prove that in giving the anesthesia to you, the doctor made some mistake or error that a reasonably careful doctor would not have made, and that mistake resulted in harm to you. Proving malpractice requires you to present sufficient evidence that the doctor’s treatment deviated from the required standard of care. This generally involves obtaining expert testimony from another doctor that indicates that your doctor’s action or inaction was a breach of their required standard of care.
When filing this kind of case, it is crucial to have an experienced medical malpractice attorney on your side. They will be able to identify the necessary evidence and arguments to establish your case and, if possible, hold your doctor accountable for their harmful conduct.
Hiring A West Virginia Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you either know or suspect that you are a victim of medical malpractice, it is vital that you receive compensation for the harm that you have suffered. It is critical that you do not wait to file a case to receive the care and compensation you need. The Charleston medical malpractice attorneys at Salango Law are ready to represent you in your medical malpractice case. To learn more about our approach to representation and your rights and options under the law, schedule an initial case consultation at no cost by calling us at (304) 342-0512 or visiting our website today. We look forward to speaking with you.