Call for a Free Consultation Today
Surgical Errors
Overview
While there are risks to any procedure, many surgical errors are more than mere risks of the procedure. Many times the malpractice arises from the surgeon's failure to timely diagnose or identify the issue that arose from the surgery.
How Are Liability, Causation, & Damages Satisfied for This Case Type
Liability
Did the surgeon fail to follow accepted surgical standards? Was the surgery indicated? Was the surgery properly performed? Was the appropriate post-operative care rendered? Even if the injury was a risk of the procedure and occurred absent malpractice, was it timely recognized? These are the questions which will speak to whether there was malpractice in a surgical case.
Causation
Did the error by the surgeon cause the injury? Can the injury be connected to the at-issue surgery? If a doctor operates on a hand but the patient suffers an injury to the shoulder, causation may be hard to prove. If, however, the doctor operates on the hand and as a result of negligence the patient is unable to move his fingers, causation will be much easier to prove.
Damages
What is the extent of the injury? Is the injury different than the pre-operative condition? Damages in a surgical case can be significant and may require the need for additional surgeries.
