Unfortunately, one common form of medical malpractice is what is known as wrong-site surgery. When this occurs, a surgeon operates on the wrong location of the body, and can be as tragic as a fatal removal of a functioning kidney while leaving a non-functioning one in, or the amputation of the wrong limb. According to the journal Archives of Surgery, this occurs in as many as 2700 cases every year in the United States.
There are some simple suggestions for minimizing the risk that you will be a victim of wrong-site surgery:
- Talk to your surgeon just prior to the surgery, before you are prepped or given anesthesia. Make sure he or she knows the specifics of the operation.
- Don’t let nurses or other staff mark the surgical site. Your surgeon should do this so that you know he or she knows where the cutting will be.
- Talk to everyone involved—radiologists, anesthesiologists, nurses–to make sure they know the specifics. The more people know, the more likely it is that someone will speak up if the wrong procedure is about to be performed.
- Make sure the hospital has procedures in place to prevent wrong-site surgery.
If you do these things, hopefully you will be able to avoid becoming a victim of wrong-site surgery.
If you or a loved one has been unfortunate enough to suffer from such a gross medical negligence as wrong-site surgery in the Chicago area, contact the experienced personal injury lawyers at The Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. today to get compensation.