Many Houston residents will need to have surgery at some point. All surgery has risks, however, patients don’t expect that their surgery will involve doctor neglect. Operating room nurses are on the front line during surgeries and many have expressed concern about the surgical errors that can occur.
Operating room nurses have cited several different injuries that patients have suffered because of neglect. The number one concern of operating room nurses is wrong-site surgery. Although a wrong-site surgery seems like something that could never happen, it actually occurs more than 40 times each week in the U.S. It can include performing the surgery on the wrong part of the body, the wrong side of the body or even on the wrong patient. Some nurses also say that wrong-site surgeries are often underreported; they can even happen before the surgery begins, such as the surgeon writing down the wrong side of the body that should be receiving the surgery.
After wrong-site surgery, operating room nurses cite surgical site infections and objects left inside patients as the next most negligent injuries that can occur in surgery. A surgical error can be very serious and can lead to unexpected medical expenses and even death. If a patient believes something went wrong in the operating room, they may want to speak with a legal professional skilled in medical malpractice. A medical malpractice attorney can review medical records and determine what went wrong with the surgery. They can hold the negligent party responsible for their actions, and compensation may be available for medical expenses, pain and suffering and other damages.
Wrong-site surgery is a problem in operating rooms across the U.S. Patients who have suffered a surgical error have legal rights to protect them.
Source: medline.com, “Wrong Site Surgery Cited as Top OR Safety Challenge Among U.S. Hospitals, Says New Medline National Safety Survey,” Accessed March 30, 2015
