Wrong-Site Surgery and Other Preventable Mistakes

Some surgical errors are classified as never events because they shouldn’t happen under any circumstances, and wrong-site surgeries are one of them. This is a surgical error that not only ignores the health concern that should have been treated but also further harms the patient, leaving them in an especially vulnerable position. If you or someone you care about was harmed by a wrong-site surgery, an experienced medical malpractice attorney at Mette Law has the legal skill and insight to help.

Wrong-Site Surgeries and Other Never Events Shouldn’t Happen

Surgical errors happen, and often, they don’t rise to the level of medical malpractice. Operating on the wrong body part, however, is generally more than a mere error, and such incidents very often lead to medical malpractice claims. Errors like wrong-site surgeries, wrong-patient surgeries, and surgeries in which medical instruments are left in the patient are called never events because they shouldn’t ever happen. This is why they are so closely associated with medical negligence.

Primary Causes of Wrong-Site Surgeries

No two wrong-site surgery cases are alike, and each has its own unique set of circumstances. This said, however, the underlying causes of most fall into specific categories.

Inadequacies in Presurgical Planning

Operating on the wrong site is often the result of shoddy planning. When critical steps in the process are rushed, skimmed over, or skipped altogether, serious errors, such as wrong-site surgery, are far more likely.

Miscommunication 

Surgery is a team effort, and everyone involved is part of the surgical team. When communication breaks down at any of the following levels, it increases the risk of errors like wrong-site surgeries:

• The surgeon and surgical assistant
• The involved nurses
• The anesthesiologist

Failure to Accurately Mark the Surgical Site

Marking the surgical site is a standard and mandatory safety procedure. When the markings aren’t clear or are missing altogether, it can lead to confusion and serious surgical mistakes.

Reliance on Memory

When a surgeon relies on their own mental notes rather than taking the time to verify a patient’s chart, it can have dire consequences.

Failure to Check before Proceeding

Simply reviewing a patient’s records or imaging scans before surgery can eliminate the risk of wrong-site surgery.

Failure to Employ the Necessary Safety Protocols

Hospitals and every member of every surgical team are required to follow strict safety protocols. Failure to do so puts patients at immense risk, which includes the negative consequences of wrong-site surgeries.

Call an Experienced Harrisburg Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today

Our accomplished Harrisburg medical malpractice attorneys at Mette Law appreciate how dramatically a wrong-site surgery can affect your life, and we will leave no stone unturned in our focused efforts to help. Your ability to recover as fully as possible could hinge on your claim. Please don’t wait to contact us online or call our firm at 717-232-5000 for more information about how we can help you today.