Anesthesia Errors: Serious Patient Complications

Since 1846, when a physician first administered ether as a means of easing the unbearable agony of surgery, anesthesia has been considered among the top 10 medical advances that changed the world. The procedures for introducing it and the drugs themselves have progressed in terms of effectiveness, and there can be no doubt the medicine today would not be possible without anesthesia.

However, there are risks involved even when administered properly – so you can just imagine the complications when a physician makes an anesthesia mistake. The effects vary depending upon the methodology, and a Florida anesthesia errors attorney can explain how the implications may affect your rights in a medical malpractice case. Still, you should understand how these mistakes can lead to serious harm. 

Complications from Various Types of Anesthesia: To understand how mistakes can impact a patient, it’s necessary to understand the circumstances under which they can occur.

• Local Anesthesia: When medication is focused on a specific area, the implications for a patient tend to affect that part of the body. Local anesthesia is typically safe, with few side effects. However, errors in administering a large dose can cause the anesthesia drug to be absorbed into the bloodstream. The complications can extend into other bodily systems, affecting the patient’s breathing, blood pressure, and heart rate.
• Regional Anesthesia: Reducing sensation may be required when a medical procedure impacts a larger area of the body, which is why an anesthesiologist would inject the drug near a network of nerves or the spinal cord. If the physician damages a nerve during administration, the patient may lose sensation, experience weakness, or endure pain. Like the local version, an overdose of regional anesthesia could lead affect other systems of the body.
• General Anesthesia: The complications with improper administration of general anesthesia can be the most harmful for the patient. The point of this medication is to slow certain functions, including the “gag” reflex. This increases the risk that food, saliva, or other material will become stuck in the throat, a condition referred to as aspiration. An anesthesiologist might implement a tube to prevent aspiration, but improper insertion can lead to harm for the patient.
  

Additional complications that can result from general anesthesia errors include fluctuations in blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, stroke, or heart attack.

Seeking Compensation for Your Losses After an Anesthesia Error: Many mistakes in administering anesthesia are actionable, so you could have legal remedies through a medical malpractice claim. You need to prove that the anesthesiologist’s conduct represents a departure from how another reasonable physician would have acted under the same circumstances. If successful, you may qualify to recover for your medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, lost income, and other damages. 

Count on a Florida Medical Malpractice Lawyer to Protect Your Interests 

For more information on your rights as a patient and legal options for seeking compensation, please contact the Miami medical malpractice lawyers at Freidin Brown, P.A. We can schedule a no-cost case evaluation for you at our offices. Our attorneys can advise you and explain the medical malpractice claims process once we review your circumstances.

Resource:

10 Health Advances That Changed the World

Miami Medical Malpractice Lawyers