Surgical Mistakes

Mistakes made during surgery can cause significant harm or even death. Operating on a particular surgical site may also cause other unexpected injuries. The result may develop into severe post-operative complications such as severe infection, damage to surrounding organs, and interruption of adequate blood flow to vital extremities. Medical providers try to protect themselves from these events by asking the patient to sign a “consent” form that places the apparent burden of any complications from the surgery on the patient. However, giving consent to surgery does not mean that you agree to accept the risk of the surgeons own negligence. Regardless of signing the consent form, the surgeon may still be held responsible for your injuries. Here are a few examples of such surgical errors:

• Bile duct injury during gallbladder surgery
• Bowel perforation during gallbladder surgery
• Bowel perforation during exploratory laparoscopic surgery
• Operating at the wrong level during a spinal surgery
• Implanting the wrong size prosthesis during joint replacement surgery
• Failure to appropriately monitor patient during surgery
• Failure to properly remove tumor in colorectal surgery
• Ureter injury in anterior approach back surgery
• Dural tear in the spinal cord during back and neck surgery