There are generally three types of anesthesia – local, regional, and general – and, even with our advances in medicine, any one of these can lead to serious complications, injury, or even death. Some of these complications are minor, such as nausea or vomiting, post-operative pain, temporary confusion, or sore throat. However, some of the more serious effects of anesthesia include pneumonia, brain damage, stroke, nerve injuries, heart attack, and anesthesia awareness.
Just as there are many complications that can come with administering anesthesia, there are a multitude of mistakes that lead to them. This includes an error in dosage, not measuring the oxygen level in the patient’s blood, failure to monitor the patient, and not giving the patient adequate and clear instructions on how to prepare for surgery. Administering the anesthesia itself may also cause nerve damage if the anesthesiologist is not careful, making contact between the syringe and nerve.
Proving liability for anesthesiology errors involves a lot of the same elements one might address in a medical malpractice case, such as proving negligence and a failure to exercise the proper standard of care. A hospital may be liable for anesthesia errors if the anesthesiologist was employed by the hospital, or if the error occurred as a result of equipment failure. Ultimately, a key necessity in proving these cases is having your lawyer hire an expert medical witness who can figure out what happened during surgery and examine any potentially ignored risk factors.
Fieger Law has access to some of the best expert medical witnesses that specialize in anesthesia complications and have secured more than 165 verdicts and settlements of $1 million or more, including a $145 million medical injury case, which is the largest in the nation. We are prepared to fight for you and have the resources to make those who are responsible pay.
