A number of people in California and across the country who go in for surgical procedures may leave the operating room with more than they bargained for. A study conducted by Johns Hopkins University found that at least 4,000 incidents involving surgical errors occur each year in the United States. However, some believe this number to be significantly low as there are many errors that go unreported or undetected, according to Medical News Today. This form of medical malpractice continues to occur and many people suffer from severe and sometimes fatal injuries as a result.
There are several types of surgical errors that can happen before, during and after a procedure. American Medical News reported that physicians may perform the wrong surgery on the wrong patient if proper protocol is not followed prior to the procedure. Surgeons also run the risk of performing wrong-site surgery, or operating on the wrong body part. Surprisingly, incidents occur where members of the surgical staff fail to account for all of the surgical instruments used in the procedure, and may leave a foreign object inside the patient after the procedure is competed. This can lead to massive infections.
Surgical errors and other medical mistakes can cause life-threatening injuries or may leave patients with long-term conditions. Patients may have to undergo additional procedures to fix the errors, which can be painful, costly and emotionally traumatizing. Not to mention, the patient may be unable to return to work, and could lose their wages while they are recovering from multiple surgeries. Physician oversight, miscommunication and medical negligence can have devastating consequences on peoples’ lives.
