About Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia errors take many forms including:
- Delivering the wrong dose of medication
- Delivering the wrong type of anesthesia
- Leaving patients awake and aware but unable to speak or communicate (a condition called anesthesia awareness) due to delivering too little anesthesia
- Delaying the delivery of anesthesia
- Failing to prevent interactions of anesthesia and other medications
- Administering anesthesia to an allergic patient
- Failure to instruct patients on preparing for anesthesia, including limiting food or liquid consumption
- Failure to monitor a patient who is under anesthesia
- Injuries during intubation
Mistakes during anesthesia can result in patients feeling considerable pain during medical procedures; can leave a patient brain dead or badly damaged, or can result in the death of a patient. Whenever the error is one that no reasonable anesthesiologist should have made, the patient can recover compensation for all damages and losses.
About Your Rights After Anesthesia Errors
When an anesthesia error occurs, the victim or surviving family members can pursue a claim against the anesthesiologist and, in many cases, against the hospital or healthcare facility that employed the anesthesiologist. A medical malpractice insurer should become involved and may try to settle the claim, although victims can decline to settle if no agreement is reached. Without a settlement, you can pursue a case in civil court.
Anesthesia errors often cause devastating outcomes, including a need for lifetime medical care or intensive rehabilitation to try to recover from injury. Patients who suffered anesthesia errors should have medical bills covered and should receive compensation for lost earning power, pain, decreased quality of life, and emotional distress. If a patient is killed or left braindead, the surviving family members can also pursue a case for loss of income, loss of companionship, funeral expenses, and other economic and non-financial damage.
Getting Help from a Charlotte Medical Malpractice Lawyer
When an anesthesia error occurs and you wish to pursue a claim for medical negligence, you’ll need to get copies of your medical records. You’ll need to show how the anesthesiologist fell short and be able to prove the extent of the damage from medical negligence.
Brown Moore & Associates, PLLC can help victims take legal action. When you need to talk with a medical malpractice attorney who has experience with anesthesia errors, give us a call at 800-948-0577 or contact us online. We offer a free case evaluation and can help you hold your anesthesiologist accountable for harming you.
