Medical Malpractice- Surgical Mistakes
Surgical Errors, Medical Malpractice
Undergoing surgery is never a pleasant experience. Each surgery has its risks and rewards, or we would not consider getting surgery as a form of health care. It is vitally important that the surgeon operate with precision, as even the most seemingly insignificant mistake can result in grave consequences for the patient. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there were over fifty million surgical procedures performed in the United States in 2007 alone, and sadly, a number of surgical mistakes did take place.
Some of the most common surgical errors include post operative and pre-operative infections, performing surgery on the wrong part of the body, or even on the wrong patient. Although it is difficult to believe that such a mistake as performing surgery on the wrong body part could occur in modern medicine, hundreds of people each year have the wrong leg, arm, side of the body, or even hemisphere of the brain operated on. Many surgical mistakes stem from oversights in pre-operative care, such as a false positive or a false negative report from a lab, or the surgeon fails to collect a complete medical history of the patient before the surgical procedure. Other surgical mistakes result from allergic or other adverse effects of medication. Perforations of internal organs by a scalpel or a laser can cause severe harm to a delicate organ. Severing a nerve is quite common, since the nervous system runs throughout the entire body and is extremely vulnerable. Some of the most common types of surgeries where surgical errors are likely to occur include gastric bypass, childbirth, cardiothoracic, thoracic surgery, laparoscopic intestinal surgery and plastic/cosmetic surgery. Finally, anesthesia errors can happen during surgery, with even a small error in dosage causing grave and potentially life-threatening consequences.
There are a number of serious concerns about safety standards and quality of care in the medical profession. Surgical errors may occur, but a surgical error does not necessarily mean that a malpractice has been performed. Medical malpractice or medical negligence (a form of professional error) is when a doctor fails to adhere to a professional level of standard of care. To bring a medical malpractice lawsuit in Maryland, another physician in the same field of medicine must certify the claim. A Plaintiff’s expert will review the relevant medical records and certify that the plaintiff's health care provider deviated from accepted medical practices, which resulted in injury to the plaintiff. The plaintiff's attorney then files the certificate of merit, which confirms that the attorney has consulted with a medical expert and that the plaintiff's action has merit. The certificate of merit contains three elements: 1) Where the doctor is licensed to practice; 2) An opinion within reasonable degree of probability that the treating doctor departed from the applicable standard of care in treating the plaintiff, and that there was damage from the breach of the appropriate standard of care; 3) That the doctor does not devote annually more than twenty percent of his professional activities to testimony in personal injury claims.
Other states have similar rules. In Virginia, the plaintiff in a medical malpractice suit is required, except in some limited circumstances, to obtain a written opinion from an expert witness, stating that based upon a reasonable understanding of the facts, the healthcare provider deviated from the applicable standard of care and the deviation caused the plaintiff’s injury. This certification is not necessary if the alleged act of negligence clearly lies within the range of the jury's common knowledge and experience. The Virginia Medical Malpractice Act provides for a system of medical malpractice review panels to assess the validity of medical malpractice claims. At the request of either party, the Supreme Court of Virginia appoints a panel to review the claim, consisting of two doctors, two lawyers, and a chairman. The panel determines whether the evidence supports the conclusion that the health care provider failed to comply with the relevant standard of care and whether that failure proximately caused the injury. The findings of the panel are non-binding and the claimant has the option of filing a lawsuit after the panel has made its ruling. However, any opinion of the medical review panel is admissible as evidence in a subsequent action.
In Washington, D.C. the plaintiff in a medical malpractice claim must present expert witnesses because the technical complexity of the facts and issues usually prevents the jury itself from determining whether the defendant's conduct conformed to the standard of care. There can be no finding of negligence without expert testimony to support it.
According to a study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), nearly $1.5 billion could be saved every year by preventing surgical errors. The study examined insurance data from more than 161,000 patients enrolled in health plans through their employer and who had a surgical procedure between 2001 and 2002. According to the study findings, insurers paid an additional (per patient): $19,480 for post-operative infections, $28,218 for acute respiratory failure, $12,196 for nursing care associated with medical errors, $11,797 metabolic problems linked to medical errors, $7,838 for blood clots and related problems linked to medical errors, $1,426 for wound openings associated with medical errors. The study also revealed that preventable medical errors were responsible for 10 percent of patient deaths occurring within three months of the surgical procedure.
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