Surgical Errors

There are many types of surgery and many different approaches to surgery. We are all familiar with traditional surgery where a doctor makes an appropriately sized incision so that the area in question can be exposed. There is now also the availability of laparoscopic surgery, where small holes are made and long thin scopes are used to visualize an area, make cuts and remove tissues or organs. Finally, there is robotic surgery, can be used for prostate surgery, gynecologic surgery, abdominal surgery and some head and neck surgeries.

Medical mistakes involving surgery, generally fall into the following areas, but this list is by no means complete:

• Punctured or lacerated organs or blood vessels
• Damage to nerves or some part of the central nervous system (brain and/or spinal cord)
• Infections that are not promptly or properly treated
• Leaving an object inside of a patient’s body that does not belong

During the course of surgery, it is possible that an organ (like the colon, small intestine, etc.) can be punctured accidently by an instrument, or that a fairly major blood vessel can be accidentally cut or lacerated. These things alone may be a risk of the surgery and not medical malpractice, although in certain instances, depending upon the type of surgery, it is not a risk and would be malpractice. The duty of the surgeon and the operating team is to recognize that an organ has been punctured or a vessel has been cut and to repair it during the operation. Many times, the surgeon and his team are not careful, they do not inspect the operative area for injuries and sew the patient up, sending the patient to the recovery room or discharging them home. Often the patient complains before they are discharged, but their complaints are dismissed as merely post-operative pain.

When a post-surgical patient returns, it is often a life and death situation. If the colon or small bowel was punctured, peritonitis (a dangerous inflammation of the lining of the wall of the abdomen due to infection) has occurred and has continued from the time of surgery until the patient returns. In that instance, another surgery is mandatory to clean out the infection. Often, a colostomy has to be performed with a portion of the bowel removed. Antibiotics are given intravenously because the infection may lead to sepsis, septic shock, organ failure and death. If a blood vessel was damaged, the patient is in danger of internal bleeding that could lead to organ failure, shock and death.

Damage to nerves, including the brain and spinal cord, is also possible during surgery. Neurosurgery is a very important and intricate type of surgery that requires attention to detail and concentration. This is true whether the doctor is performing surgery on the brain for a tumor, an aneurysm, or whether the surgery is being conducted on the spine due to a ruptured or herniated disc, a tumor or other condition. Many injuries to the central nervous system occurring during surgery and as a result of the surgery can be due to:

1. inattention to detail or lack of focus during the surgery
2. improper technique
3. incompetence
4. inexperience of the person doing the surgery
5. failure to use available monitoring equipment or appropriate safeguards during surgery
6. any number of other possible reasons that are too numerous to mention

When a serious injury occurs to the brain or spinal cord, the results are often devastating. Surgical malpractice cases involving central nervous system injuries have resulted in paralysis, severe intellectual impairment, psychological changes, inability to remember past and/or present events, blindness, coma, vegetative state and/or death.

Infections may occur after a surgery. The mere fact an infection occurs may not be malpractice—infections can happen even with good care. The failure, however, to promptly diagnose and properly treat an infection with correct antibiotics, medicines and/or surgical care may very well be malpractice. While most of us are familiar with mild infections that may turn our skin slightly red and cause minor pain, a serious infection can quickly get out of control, leading to life-threatening conditions or even death. An infection can turn into sepsis – a condition that is life-threatening and affects the organs of the body. Common locations for the primary infection include the lungs, brain, urinary tract, skin and abdominal organs. If sepsis is not aggressively treated, it can further lead to septic shock, multiple organ failure and death.

Leaving an object inside of a patient’s body after surgery that does not belong is unfortunately a part of medical malpractice that still exists to this day. While sponges, lap pads, scissors, clamps, scalpels and other items are all used during surgery, it is imperative that the surgeon and the operating room nurses keep track of what is being used and that every item that should be removed is accounted for before the patient is sewn back up and the operation is complete. There have been many instances where, scissors or sponges or pads, etc. have been left inside a patient after surgery. The patient then suffers pain and/or discomfort without knowing what happened. It is only when an X-ray or other radiographic test is taken that the cause of the problem is discovered. This can be months to years later. Then the patient has to undergo another serious surgery to have the object removed.

The attorneys at Sanocki Newman & Turret, LLP, have achieved verdicts and settlements that are among the largest in New York state for surgical errors including a $62 million verdict for a woman whose bowel was perforated during laparoscopic surgery but was discharged from the hospital despite complaints of pain and ended up having both legs amputated due to infection, as well as a $3.2 million verdict for a person who was negligently partially blinded during brain surgery to remove a benign tumor.

If you believe there was an injury as a result of medical malpractice, please contact our firm at 212-962-1190 to discuss your case.