Surgical Negligence And Errors Can Leave You Worse Off Than Before Your Treatment

For many people, surgery is often the best course of action to treat their condition, from a simple biopsy to a more complex organ transplant that can save a life, they come with inherent risks and complications can easily arise that sharply raise the risk to the patient’s health. However, in some unfortunate cases the risk is not inherent from the procedure, but because the attending health care provider made a careless mistake during the course of the surgery. When such a negligent act occurs that falls below the standard of care that the surgeon owes to their patient, it is a form of medical malpractice, and you have the right to seek fair compensation from them for the harm that was done to you.

At Hofeld and Schaffner, we are experienced medical malpractice attorneys with decades of experience in representing seriously injured patients who were harmed by the negligence of their doctor, nurse or other medical provider. Your life can be seriously impacted by a botched surgery, and the resulting medical bills and other pain that you may need to go through to be made well again can far exceed the original condition for which you were being treated.

When You Need Help Recovering From A Surgery Mistake, We Are Here For You

Despite how much we wish we can trust our health care providers, there are still thousands of preventable surgical errors or mistakes that are made every year. When you are one of these unfortunate patients, you need to come to our team of personal injury attorneys here at Hofeld and Schaffner. We have experience in a broad array of surgical negligence cases, due to our long history of operating here in Chicago. These cases have included common situations such as:

• The surgeon operated on the wrong part of your body. This often happens when the entry incision that the surgeon makes is incorrectly placed. Further treatment will be needed for that access area to heal and any unneeded surgical work to be undone.
• The surgeon performed the wrong operation on you. Sometimes the medical team will become confused and mix up a patient’s file, resulting in the doctor performing a different procedure than the one intended. This can result in catastrophic injuries, especially in the case of major surgeries.
• The surgeon failed to respond appropriately to a surgical complication. Surgeries routinely have complications that arise as they are performed, and it is the surgeon’s duty to respond accordingly. A failure to do so can lead to serious harm or even death.
• The surgeon left a foreign object inside of the incision. This happens when a surgeon fails to remove all the medical devices and tools that they used such as gauze or a sponge. Such objects can lead to infections and can cause serious harm.
• The surgeon operated on the wrong patient. In a worst-case scenario, you may wake up in the hospital to find that you were operated on when you were never supposed to receive any such surgery. Such mistakes are a serious violation of your person.

No matter how your injury was caused, you deserve to get fair compensation so that you can begin to put your life back together. We want to help make that possible for you.

Answering Your Pressing Questions

Medical malpractice cases are exceedingly complicated. Most of our prospective clients come to us with a lot of questions. Below, you can find some of our answers to these questions. We hope this helps you as you begin learning about your rights.

What are the types of surgical negligence?

Surgical malpractice is a broad field that encompasses many examples. Some of the most common include:

• Procedural errors: Errors that occur during a surgical procedure such as leaving behind a tool or performing the wrong surgery.
• Preoperative negligence: Negligence that occurs prior to a surgery such as failure to obtain informed consent.
• Postoperative negligence: Surgical negligence can also occur after a surgery, causing harm in the recovery process.

No matter when your type of surgical negligence occurred, you can trust that our team of medical malpractice lawyers can help you.

What is the standard of care in surgery?

In legal and medical jargon, the standard of care means the level of care that a medical professional is expected to use with a patient. It should be equal to the level of care that another reasonable medical professional would use in the same situation. Failure to use the expected standard of care can provide the basis for a surgical malpractice claim.

What legal recourse do patients have for surgical negligence?

If you had a doctor-patient relationship with your surgeon and you believe that they or another health care professional deviated from the standard of care, resulting in compensable damages, you may have a medical malpractice claim on your hands. Patients who suffered medical negligence can file lawsuits against the practitioner or hospital that wronged them. In Illinois, you have up to two years to file your medical malpractice lawsuit.

What should you do if you suspect surgical negligence?

The first thing you should do is get additional medical help to address any health concerns caused by the surgical error. Your health is the most important thing. After this, consult a medical malpractice attorney. You need a team that has handled numerous complex surgical malpractice claims. Once you have a legal team on your side, they can begin gathering medical documents and other evidence.

Call Our Team Today

If you have been the victim of surgical negligence, then you need to get help so that you can get financial compensation to pay for your medical bills and additional suffering. Our team at Hofeld and Schaffner can help you, so call us today at 312-702-1918, or send us a message through our online contact form. We offer free consultations, so reach out to us for yours soon.