Wrong-site Surgery Overview

Wrong-site surgery is an uncommon form of medical malpractice that occurs when a surgical procedure is conducted on the incorrect area of your body. All types of surgery require competent medical attention; however, wrong-site surgery is usually the result of negligence on the part of a medical facility or its staff. Some of the common reasons for wrong-site surgery include:

• medical files confusion;
• haste that causes the wrong location to be marked;
• poor communication; and
• failure to follow pre-op procedures.

Hospitals are usually required to follow certain protocols regarding surgery, which include details about the surgery site. If you have sustained injuries due to wrong-site surgery in Illinois, you should consult a Chicago medical malpractice attorney to discuss filing a medical malpractice claim.

Pre-Surgery Procedures

Medical professionals such as doctors, nurses and their surgerical assistants are required to adhere to some form of pre-surgery regulations. These regulations are in place to ensure the safety of an operation and serve as standard precautions to avoid harmful surgical mistakes. However, they can vary depending on a hospital’s requirement. Some of the necessary pre-surgery steps all medical professionals should take to avoid wrong-site surgery include:

• Verification – This is where all the medical personnel that will be conducting the surgery meet as a group to confirm the type of surgical procedure, the correct patient and the site of the surgery.
• Marking the site – The exact site for the surgery is pre-marked by one of the medical staff. This individual should be present during the operation.
• Calling a time out – This is a repetition of the verification step, which is done to eliminate all possibilities for errors. This is done right before any incision is made and is initiated by a designated staff member.

In the majority of cases, surgical errors result when doctors neglect the “time out” step. Continue reading to know more about liability issues in wrong-site surgery cases and how you may be able to get compensation for the injuries you’ve sustained as a result of medical negligence. When you decide to do undergo a surgery for whatever reason, you place your life in the hands of surgeons, hoping they will do everything possible to ensure a safe procedure. However, some medical professionals don’t always live up to the standards of their profession and a wrong-site surgery be the end result of such negligence. Wrong-site surgery, as the name suggests, is when an operation is done on an incorrect part of the body. This kind of surgical error can lead to devastating, life-long consequences.Wrong-site surgical error can be avoided if medical professionals adhere to the standard pre-surgery protocols set by the medical facility. Liability in the form of a medical malpractice lawsuit may be determined based on whether or not these pre-surgery protocols were followed. There are steps every medical professional is required to take before performing a surgical operation, including: 

• verification of the intended procedure;
• marking the intended surgical site; and
• time-out period.

These pre-surgery protocols are established to ensure a safe operation. The most important step is the “time-out” period. This is where all the medical professionals meet as a group and re-verify the identity of the patient, the type of procedure and the specific site of the surgery.Under Illinois medical malpractice laws, you may be eligible to recover both economic and non-economic damages for injuries sustained as a result of wrong-site surgery. If you have had a wrong-site surgery in Illinois, then a Chicago medical malpractice attorney from the Law Offices of Barry G. Doyle, P.C. may be able to help you file a claim. Contact us today for a no-cost case evaluation – 312-263-1080.