Medical Malpractice – Avoiding Surgical Errors

Medical malpractice is something most people are familiar with, mainly from news stories condemning “frivolous” lawsuits and “excessive” settlements.  What isn’t discussed as often is why mistakes happen and what can be done to prevent unnecessary patient suffering.  It’s easy to become indignant about malpractice lawsuits brought against doctors who are “just doing their job”, but we have to keep in mind that lawsuits start because an innocent patient is suffering from the results of somebody’s negligence.

You might be surprised to find out that a study conducted by The Commonwealth Fund found that a full one-third of American patients have been the victim of a medical mistake.  In fact, of six countries surveyed, the United States stood out as having high medical error rates, inefficient coordination of care, and high out-of-pocket costs resulting in forgone care.  What are you to do if you want to avoid a  preventable mistake?

Not All Doctors are Created Equal

Experts recommend that patients ask their doctors more personal, in-depth questions, especially before they agree to going under the knife.  This is especially important these days, as more surgical procedures – nearly 10 million nationwide – are taking place in outpatient facilities, where patients don’t have the same post-surgical monitoring or access to hospital care.  In fact, the New York State Health Commissioner recently passed a patient safety law that will require New York State physicians who perform office-based surgical procedures to become accredited.  What’s unsettling is that prior to this legislation, procedures performed in doctor’s offices were not regulated by New York State.

Consider the recent case of Donda West, Kayne West’s mother, who died after cosmetic surgery performed in a doctor’s office, not in a hospital.  In this case the surgeon, Dr. Jan West, was not board certified to perform plastic surgery, was facing disciplinary action by the California state medical board and has had two medical malpractice cases brought against him, both of which resulted in significant payouts.  Would Dr. West be alive today if she had asked more questions, or if the state of California better monitored office-based surgeries?

To reduce the chance of becoming the victim of a surgical mistake, the American College of Surgeons recommends asking your surgeon the following questions before agreeing to a surgical procedure:

1. Do you perform this operation regularly?  What are your results?
2. Are you board certified in the surgical specialty in which you practice?
3. Do you have any health problems that would interfere with your ability to do this operation?
4. What is your success rate with this operation and your safety record regarding complications?
5. Will I be involved in marking the surgical site?

Questions to ask after a surgical procedure:

1. Did anything unexpected happen during the operation?
2. Is there any change in the post-operative plans?
3. Did anything happen during surgery that could complicate recovery?
4. Are there any instructions for me in case of bleeding or other problems after surgery?
5. When should I next see the surgeon?

Unfortunately, even if you ask your doctor directly about mistakes that may have been made during your care, you probably won’t get an admission of guilt or even an apology.  Studies have shown that many doctors will not admit to making a medical mistake when something goes wrong, mainly out of fear they’ll be sued.  Even doctors in the 29 states with some form of an “I’m Sorry” law in place – where expressions of sympathy following an accident or error is inadmissible to prove liability – are reluctant to admit error.  Adding to this, insurance companies often discourage doctors from admitting guilt.  Some doctors are discouraged from saying the words, "error," "mistake," "fault" or "negligence” when discussing the unfortunate outcome of a case with their patient.  Not surprisingly, this tactic often backfires, and angry or frustrated patients who feel as though they aren’t being told the truth resort to lawsuits to get the answers they deserve.

Avoidable Medical Mistakes

There are so many different kinds of mistakes that can be made during a patient’s treatment, many of which are avoidable.  Below are several ways that medical mistakes can be avoided.

• Is your doctor cutting corners?  Most doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals perform the same procedures over an over in the course of a day or a week.  Many times they rely on memory and experience to guide them, but recent research shows this isn’t good enough.  Health-care professionals who follow medical checklists for the procedures they practice can drastically reduce the chances they’ll make a mistake.  For example, a simple 5-point checklist for inserting or replacing central lines is purported to eliminate almost all the risk of infection.  It’s estimated that 80,000 patients a year experience infected lines, which causes death between five and twenty-eight percent of the time.  Imagine if all medical professionals were willing to scrupulously follow simple checklists for every procedure they practice – so many patients would be saved needless suffering.
• Avoid the agony of a wrong-site surgery.  Wrong-site surgical mistakes happen when doctors operate on the wrong part of a patient’s body – and sadly, these mistakes are on the rise.  Studies have found that patients who participate in marking the surgical site are less likely to experience a wrong-site surgical mistake.  There are also steps that a surgeon can take to reduce the likelihood of making such a mistake, and patients should ask if these steps are being followed.
• Insist on board certification.  Experts recommend finding a doctor who is board certified for the type of medicine he or she will practice on you.  However, many patients are reluctant to ask, perhaps assuming that if the doctor is practicing a particular type of medicine then they must in fact be certified.  This simply is not true.  While about 85% of all doctors are board certified, there are 15% who are not certified at all and there is also no guarantee that your doctor is certified for the type of procedure they will actually perform on you.  Certification is important, as it requires doctors to take continuing education classes in their specialty and to periodically demonstrate their competency.

If you or someone you love has been the victim of a medical mistake, then Peter Panas wants to help you get the justice you deserve.  Contact our office today and find out how you could be eligible to receive compensation for lost wages, pain and suffering, lost future earnings, and medical expenses.
 

Law Office of Peter Panas, PC
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New York, NY 10001
Phone: 212-946-4748
Fax: 866-805-2522