Medical mistakes can have devastating consequences, such as permanent disabilities or even death. That is why surgeons and other members of the medical team must be able to do their jobs properly, and patients must understand that if something goes wrong, they may have the right to take legal action.
If you suspect that a doctor or other member of the medical staff in Everett has not met the applicable standard of care, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney immediately. The lawyers at Scalli Murphy have access to a network of medical experts who can review your case and form an opinion regarding whether or not the care you received fell below the acceptable standards.
In a matter like this, expert witness testimony is often crucial to building a strong malpractice claim. An Surgical Error Expert Everett can also have access to medical records and can bring in a nurse who can interpret these. Often, the expert will be a physician who has experience with a specific type of surgery or injury. For example, a doctor who has extensive knowledge about spinal cord injuries may be able to provide invaluable insight into an accident involving that type of injury.
When it comes to surgical errors, such as retained foreign bodies or wrong-site, wrong-procedure, and wrong-patient errors (WSPEs), it is important that all healthcare professionals work together to reduce these errors. This can be done by using interprofessional interventions, such as safety checklists, effective communication, and briefing and debriefing. These measures can help prevent mistakes from occurring and ensure that any errors that do occur are identified quickly so they can be corrected in the future.
For instance, if a surgeon uses the wrong-sized surgical instrument during a procedure, a patient could end up with permanent disability. This is one type of surgical error that could be prevented by the use of an intraoperative complication database, which would alert the surgeon to the existence of a potential problem with the tool they are using and prompt them to switch to another device.
All surgeries are accompanied by some risk, but the risks can be dramatically elevated when doctors or other medical staff make serious errors during an operation. That’s why patients are entitled to receive a fair amount of compensation when these errors cause them injury.
If you think that you have suffered a surgical mistake, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Everett right away. A lawyer can help you determine if there is a valid claim and then file the appropriate lawsuit. Typically, injured parties are given three years from the date of their injury to pursue a malpractice lawsuit. However, there are exceptions to this rule, and it is important to speak with an attorney promptly so that you do not miss the deadline. This is especially true if you have a surgical error case that involves complex issues such as a botched LASIK procedure. In these cases, it is not unusual for patients to have to hire an expert witness in order to prove that the surgery was flawed.