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Post-surgical negligence can be a form of medical malpractice. A doctor fails to provide adequate care after surgery, causing the patient harm. Being aware of the signs of post-surgical negligence can help you protect yourself and your loved ones. Our New Jersey personal injury attorneys discuss post-surgical negligence and medical malpractice in this blog.
What Are Surgical Errors and Post-surgical Negligence?
A surgical error is a preventable injury that occurs unintentionally around the time of surgery. However, the injury is not considered a known or acceptable risk of surgery. The injury could have been avoided by following the standard of care for the appropriate procedure. Surgical errors include operating on the wrong patient, leaving foreign objects in a patient, and performing the wrong procedure.
Post-surgical negligence is another type of surgical error. It involves a complication or injury that arises after surgery because a doctor deviates from the standard of care (i.e., medical negligence). Post-surgical negligence can result in life-threatening conditions, infections, and permanent impairments. Examples of post-surgical negligence include:
- Risk of infection in hospitals from failing to clean and sanitize adequately
- Failing to adequately monitor a patient post-anesthesia for allergic reactions, respiratory depression, and other problems
- Improper incision care after surgery
- Ignoring a patient’s vital signs, which could indicate infections and other conditions
- Lack of staff members to adequately care for the number of patients
- Failing to prescribe necessary antibiotics to prevent infection
- Not giving a patient who is not ambulatory medication to reduce blood clots
- Failing to review a patient’s medical history and current risk factors for post-surgical complications
- Failure to provide a patient with postoperative care instructions and follow-up instructions
Surgical complications cannot be avoided entirely. Even when the medical providers do everything right, the patient could suffer harm. However, when medical errors and post-surgical negligence cause complications, the medical provider could be liable for medical malpractice.
What Are the Risk Factors of Post-surgical Negligence?
Some individuals may have risk factors that could increase their chance of post-surgical complications. The risk factors include, but are not limited to:
- Certain pre-existing medical conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, kidney disease, etc.
- Older adults have a higher risk of post-surgical complications due to their advanced age
- Certain medications could increase the risk of complications
- Being obese or overweight is another risk factor for postoperative complications, including blood clots, infections, and breathing problems
- Scar tissue from previous surgeries could increase the risk of some postoperative conditions
- Alcohol use and smoking could also increase a person’s risk of bleeding, poor wound healing, and infections
- A person’s family history may also increase the risk of surgical complications because of genetic conditions
The type of surgery a patient undergoes is also a factor. Specific procedures are inherently riskier and pose a significant chance of something going wrong.
If you believe post-surgical negligence caused you harm, talk with an attorney as soon as possible. Our medical malpractice lawyers can review your case and explain your legal options during a free consultation.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our New Jersey Personal Injury Attorneys
You trust your surgeon and the hospital to meet the required medical standard of care. If medical errors or medical negligence occur at any stage of your medical care, you may be entitled to compensation for a medical malpractice claim. Call our New Jersey personal injury attorneys at Nagel Rice LLP for a free consultation to discuss your legal options.