When a pregnant woman or newborn requires a surgical procedure, the stakes could not be higher. Due to their inherently fragile natures, newborns are more susceptible to surgical complications than older individuals. Due to this fact, in order to operate successfully, surgeons who operate on pregnant women and newborns must show an extraordinary level of care and attention to detail.
No matter how difficult the surgery, if a surgeon acts negligently or contrary to widely accepted procedures, he or she may be liable for the resulting injuries suffered by the baby.
Common Surgical Errors
There are a wide variety of surgical errors which may result from a surgeon’s negligence, incompetence, or straying from standard procedures. All of these errors may have magnified consequences when a pregnant woman or newborn is the patient.
Some common surgical errors include:
- Injury to other parts of the body – Due to the difficulty of performing surgical procedures on pregnant women and newborn babies, sometimes surgeons may inadvertently cause damage to parts of the body which are located near the parts on which they are operating. When such an injury is the result of a surgeon’s negligence or incompetence, the resultant harm may cause permanent injury and hardship to the woman and/or baby – harm which could have been prevented.
- Failure to disclose – It is widely recognized that surgeons must sometimes make split-second life or death decisions. But in cases in which surgeons are presented with multiple options, but fail to present such options and their respective risks and probable outcomes to their patients, that failures to disclose may result in significant injury.
- Failure to diagnose – Doctors are highly trained medical professionals who undergo years of schooling before ever picking up a scalpel. Despite this fact, doctors still make mistakes. When a doctor fails to properly diagnose a medical condition, the result may be that his patient suffers a significant injury. If those conditions had been properly diagnosed in a timely manner, the patient might have been treated or cured.
- Wrong site surgery – Sometimes surgeons negligently operate on healthy parts of the body, erroneously believing them to be the area which needs an operation. For example, cases in which surgeons operate on the wrong arm, leg, or organ are more common than many people would guess.
- Wrong surgical procedure – Similar to wrong site surgery, sometimes surgeons negligently perform the wrong surgical procedure on their patients, failing to perform the needed procedure and causing harm to their patients in the process.
Seeking Justice
If you or your child has suffered significant injury as a result of the negligence or incompetence of your surgeon, he or she may be liable for the harm caused to you. Contact a qualified medical malpractice lawyer today to discuss your situation and receive valuable information relating to what you can do to seek justice.
