Medical Malpractice and Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia is involved in many medical procedures. Anesthesia is meant to numb patients so they can undergo such treatments without feeling pain or discomfort. Unfortunately, there is a significant degree of risk involved with anesthesia. Anesthesia errors can result in serious complications and substantial financial losses.
When anesthesia errors are caused by medical malpractice, patients have the right to seek financial compensation for resulting damages. The medical malpractice lawyers at The Tawwater Law Firm can assist injury victims in Oklahoma City, OK, and surrounding areas to obtain maximum compensation for their losses.
Defining Medical Malpractice
It is important that people understand how to recognize cases of medical malpractice. Unfortunately, medical treatment sometimes results in complications, and those are not always avoidable. While no medical professional can guarantee a positive outcome of treatment, they are required to deliver care that holds up to a certain standard.
To establish medical malpractice, we must be able to show that the care provided was substandard to the care that would have been provided by another similarly trained medical professional in the same situation.
Types of Anesthesia Errors
There are many potential errors involved with the administration of anesthesia. Some of the most common types of anesthesia errors to affect our Oklahoma City clients include:
- Giving the wrong dose of anesthesia
- Delivering the wrong type of anesthesia
- Failing to properly monitor the patient while they are under the effects of anesthesia
- Improperly intubating the patient
- Failing to monitor oxygen delivery or turning off the alarm on the pulse oximeter (which measures oxygen in the patient’s blood)
- Failing to recognize and respond to complications as they develop
Complications Stemming from Anesthesia Errors
As with any other case of medical malpractice, the complications caused by anesthesia errors range from minor to more severe, and even catastrophic. Some of the potential complications and injuries of anesthesia errors include:
- Dental damage
- Damage to the larynx
- Mental confusion
- Respiratory issues
- Nerve injury
- Anesthesia awareness (regaining some degree of consciousness during the procedure)
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Brain damage
- Death
Medical Malpractice Damages
Victims of anesthesia errors caused by medical malpractice are likely to suffer a wide range of damages that include physical injury, emotional trauma, and financial losses. When a medical malpractice lawsuit is filed, our attorneys will fight to get our Oklahoma City clients the maximum compensation they are due for the full range of their losses. Typical sources of loss in medical malpractice cases include:
- The cost of medical care
- Expenses for future treatment or therapy
- Lost wages or the loss of wage-earning potential
- Pain and suffering
- Funeral expenses, loss of benefits and income, and loss of consortium (in the event that anesthesia errors result in death)
Contact Us
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries stemming from anesthesia errors, you may be able to collect financial compensation for your losses by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. To discuss the details of your case with a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney, send a message to The Tawwater Law Firm at your earliest convenience or call (405) 673-8021 to schedule a consultation.