Surgical Malpractice 101

Surgical malpractice is a type of medical malpractice committed by a surgeon. If you believe your surgeon has been negligent or that your surgeon caused you injury, it is essential that you understand the basics of surgical malpractice.

What is Surgical Malpractice?

Surgical malpractice is a type of personal injury tort action you can bring against a negligent surgeon. To make a case for surgical malpractice you must prove:

That your surgeon was negligent
That your surgeon's negligence was the direct or proximate cause of your injuries

Negligence is determined by whether a reasonable surgeon would have provided a higher level of care than your particular surgeon provided. If a reasonable surgeon would have been more careful and skilled, then your surgeon can be said to have breached his duty of care to you. This means he can be found negligent under the law and required to pay damages. However, his negligence had to have directly led to your injuries in order for him to be forced to pay for damages resulting from those injuries. If the injury or illness would have happened anyway, even if he was careful, then you may not be able to recover for the surgical malpractice.

Common Types of Surgical Malpractice

While surgical malpractice can take almost any form in which the doctor is negligent, there are several types of surgical malpractice that are more common including:

Wrong site surgery. If your doctor was supposed to operate on your right foot and operated on your left foot instead, this is a clear example of negligence and surgical malpractice
Leaving items inside a patient. If your doctor leaves a surgical tool or other item inside of you during surgery, again, this is a pretty clear example of surgical negligence that can lead to a lawsuit.

Damages

If your surgeon is found to have breached the standard of care and been negligent in any way that led to injury, the law entitles you to various types of damages. These damages include:

Medical bills
Lost wages
Pain and suffering
Emotional distress
Wrongful death

Some states have, however, placed limits on non-economic damages (damages designed to compensate you for things such as pain and suffering instead of for actual financial loss). For example, California (and several other states) limit you to recovering $250,000 in non-economic damages. These limitations are part of tort reform efforts designed to lower the cost of malpractice insurance premiums, and in turn to lower the cost of health care.

Getting Help

If you have been the victim of surgical negligence, you should consult with an experienced medical malpractice attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can provide you with detailed information on what your potential recovery may be and can help you collect evidence to prove your case and collect your damages.

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