How can distractions during surgery lead to malpractice?

While you may prepare for surgery, you may not prepare for extended issues with complications from the surgery itself.

If you notice your health is declining in the time after a procedure and you experienced a form of malpractice, you may want to know why it happened.

Confusion

According to the Mayo Clinic, a misunderstanding over what side of the body, such as which arm or leg, a doctor needs to operate on can leave the patient at risk for medical malpractice. When a doctor operates on the wrong limb or area, it can lead to further health problems.

Another medical professional could fail to check the information provided or could mistakenly mark the wrong area before the surgery. Overworked or distracted surgeons can also fail to follow all safety guidelines during this sensitive time.

Miscommunication

When people do not talk about important details before or during surgery, minor mistakes can lead to major medical problems. Leaving a sponge or another medical item inside a person can lead to opened stitches and intense pain, as well as numbness in your limbs.

Counting all surgical items used and checking with other medical professionals about what to do during unexpected situations is important. Skipping these steps or assuming other people finished them during or before a procedure is one way that medical malpractice happens.

Lack of oversight

When a surgery team is not vigilant or does not have proper oversight, errors can happen without anyone noticing them. The team may struggle with understaffing and still choose to operate.

When a hospital’s supervision is not adequate, simple mistakes during surgery can harm your health and well-being.