Going into the hospital for surgery, while common, may be fraught with the potential for anesthesia malpractice, a matter that needs to be discussed with a skilled Las Vegas personal injury lawyer.
Not many people have heard of the term anesthesia malpractice and it doesn’t just happen in the operating room, as many would guess. It may happen during pre-operative prepping, post-op recovery, or even in any location where anesthesia is given, such as a medical facility or physician’s office. Las Vegas personal injury lawyers are well aware of cases such as this.
The assumption that lies at the basis of any medical malpractice lawsuit is that doctors or medical professionals owe us a primary duty of care to exercise their skill and training with due diligence to the patients. Although medical practitioners are human and do make mistakes, their standard of care is higher because of their training and the enormous amount of trust others place in their hands. Not exercising the proper care may result in severe injuries or death.
The scope of anesthesia mistakes ranges from possible incidents during childbirth and may also encompass dental procedures. The difficult thing in this particular field of medicine is that errors are not just limited to anesthesiologists. To administer anesthesia all one requires is specialized training and certification.
This explains why you’ll find other people, (besides doctors) giving anesthesia in places like a dental office, an office that specializes in cosmetic surgery and other outpatient procedures; e.g. colonoscopy. This isn’t to say that ordinary people on the street are able to get special certification in administering anesthesia, as it’s only medical professionals that get this training, and that includes dentists, surgeons and nurses, etc. While incidents like this are not highly common, many Las Vegas personal injury lawyers have handled some cases during the course of their practices.
Injuries that result from a brush with the wrong dose or method of administering anesthesia usually manifest themselves in the form of an overdose and/or the failure of the person giving it to properly prepare the patient, take extra precautions or monitor the patient.
There is one other area where sometimes things go awry, and that is when the anesthesia staff don’t properly inform the patient of what they may expect. Informed consent issues are another area of duty of care by medical professionals that needs to be followed to avoid disastrous consequences. If you have any questions about an incident that you may have endured involving anesthesia, discuss your concerns with an experienced Las Vegas personal injury lawyer.
Be aware that liability may not just be outside the hospital or other office settings and may involve the actual equipment used. All the apparatus used when administering anesthesia needs to maintained consistently and diligently, and if anything is not done properly, liability may fall on the manufacturer or the individuals who maintain the machine(s).
If you feel you have been the victim of anesthesia malpractice, contact a highly skilled Las Vegas personal injury lawyer to help you build your case for just compensation.
Bradley J. Hofland is with Las Vegas Divorce law firm, Hofland, Beasley & Galliher. The law firm focuses on Las Vegas family law, custody, and Las Vegas personal injury. To learn more about
Las Vegas divorce, Las Vegas personal injury, Las Vegas divorce lawyer, Las Vegas family law, Las Vegas family law attorneys, Las Vegas personal injury lawyer, visit Hoflandlaw.com.
