If a Texas doctor recommends surgery to help you treat an adverse health condition or as an elective procedure you were interested in, you might feel a bit nervous as you prepare for the operation. There’s always an inherent risk involved with surgery, especially if you will need a general anesthetic.
This is why it’s so important to thoroughly discuss your case with your surgeon and primary care physician ahead of time. They should fully explain what you can expect, what the surgeon will do while you’re unconscious, and what to anticipate in terms of recovery. Sadly, medical negligence is problematic in this state and most others. Because of that, you should also be aware of the most common types of surgical errors that often result in patient injuries.
Never events are appropriately named
In the medical industry, the term “never event” refers to a medical error that occurs and can result in patient injury. They call them “never events” because they should never happen. As you learn more about surgical errors, you’ll find out that most of them are easily preventable. There are safety regulations and protocols in place to keep you safe when you undergo surgery.
In fact, there’s an entire system of checks and balances in an operating room. A team member counts the tools. Someone double checks the counting. Your entire medical team works together to make sure you get the highest quality and safest care possible; at least, that’s how it is supposed to work. It doesn’t always turn out that way.
Common surgical errors that are never events
When medical team members come to your room to take you to the operating room, they must confirm your identity. This check is in place to ensure that they have the correct patient for the scheduled surgery. Wrong-patient surgery mistakes often result in serious injuries to Texas hospital patients.
In addition to making sure you’re the right patient, a hospital worker is supposed to confirm that the procedure written in your file is the correct one. Imagine going into the operating room and later awakening to learn that the surgeon performed the wrong surgery. Never events also occur when surgeons perform the correct procedures on the wrong body parts. You might be scheduled for left knee surgery, then find out that your surgeon operated on your right knee by mistake.
Recovering from a surgical error injury
It’s understandable that you might feel betrayed and angry if your medical team is negligent and that negligence causes you to suffer illness or injury. Especially if the errors that occurred were easily preventable, you might have a strong desire to make sure those responsible for your injuries face the applicable repercussions for their negligence.
The road to recovery after a surgical error can be long and arduous. You might need to take time off work, and you might encounter serious financial distress in the months that follow the incident. Many Texas patients seek financial recovery for their losses by filing medical malpractice claims in civil court. There’s no reason you should bear the full financial burden of expenses connected with a medical injury you did not cause.