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Surgical Errors

Legal Representation for Victims of Surgical Errors in Ocala

Surgeons are held in high esteem both by their peers in the medical profession and by the public at large. Surgery takes an immense amount of concentration and precision. A number of surgical instruments are used, and life-changing decisions must be made throughout an operation or procedure. Surgeons are held to a high standard of care because of the immense risk involved in surgery. The risk of death or serious injury is always present, so surgical errors can be devastating. The Ocala medical malpractice attorneys of the Dean Law Firm represent clients who have been injured by surgical error in cities throughout Florida, including Ocala, Crystal Rivers, and The Villages.

Pursuing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Florida

You will have to show three elements to succeed in your medical malpractice claim:

  • The doctor or medical provider breached the accepted and expected professional standard of care;
  • The patient suffered an injury due to this breach; and
  • The injury caused a negative impact and actual damages.

When a surgeon breaches his or her duty of care and causes severe harm, a disabling injury can result. Further surgeries may be necessary to correct a mistake. Or a surgeon may kill someone with the surgical error. Common surgical errors include forgetting to remove a foreign object from a body cavity, nicking a nerve or cutting an organ, and operating on the wrong party of the body. Doctors also may be liable for the use of unsanitary equipment, anesthesia errors, performing the wrong procedure, and excessively prolonged surgery. These may seem like obvious errors, but proving malpractice can be difficult in Florida.

Surgical errors are complex. Certain procedures, however, carry a higher risk of surgical error. There are more errors during gastric bypass surgeries, plastic surgeries, and laparoscopic procedures than other kinds of surgery. This is because they are usually highly invasive procedures in which there may be a great deal of blood loss and risk of infection from tissues exposed to needless harm.

Often, because of the great esteem the public has for surgeons, jurors will be sympathetic to a doctor rather than a victim of the surgeon's negligence. Also, most people have to sign a consent form before surgery. While this does not allows a surgeon to be negligent, it gives the surgeon and his or her insurers the option of arguing that whatever happened to you was part of the risks that you accepted in signing the form. Finally, proving a causal link between the error and the damages may require the help of an expert surgeon in the defendant surgeon's specialty, careful analysis of hospital files and charts, review of the defendant's surgical history, and witness interviews.

Retain Crystal Rivers Attorneys to Seek Compensation for Surgical Error

If you or someone you love was harmed by a surgical error in Marion, Sumter, Lake, Citrus, or Levy Counties, you may have a claim for medical malpractice. A Crystal Rivers medical malpractice lawyer at the Dean Law Firm may be able to help you pursue all costs for past and future medical expenses associated with the error, as well as lost wages, pain and suffering, and loss of consortium. We offer a free initial consultation to discuss your case and accept all malpractice claims on a contingency fee basis. You will not pay attorneys’ fees unless we are successful in your case. Call at 352-387-8700 or contact us via our online form.