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We trust surgeons and other healthcare providers with our lives, but they can cause catastrophic injuries when surgical errors occur. To make matters worse, proving negligence in these cases involves significant legal challenges. If you want to prove a surgeon or medical facility committed a surgical error that amounts to malpractice, you’ll need airtight evidence and a proven legal team.
Establishing Liability for Surgical Errors
It’s not enough to show that a surgeon or medical facility made a mistake in a New York medical malpractice case. To recover compensation for your losses, you must prove that the liable party failed to meet the appropriate medical standard of care. That means you must demonstrate that the liable party’s actions did not align with what another healthcare provider with similar training and experience would have done in the same situation.
Some types of evidence you can use to support your medical malpractice claim include:
- Medical records – Documents showing what was supposed to happen in your surgery and what actually happened can help illustrate what went wrong and who made the mistakes. Medical records can also document your injuries and how long they will take to heal, helping to quantify your losses.
- Expert testimony – Testimony from doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals can reveal whether your healthcare provider’s actions before, during, and after the surgery align with generally accepted medical practices. For instance, witnesses can testify if medical professionals properly monitored you for complications during and after the procedure.
- Eyewitness accounts – Accounts from the doctors, nurses, and other staff who performed your procedure could provide details about what happened and whether anyone made any mistakes. Even if their accounts contradict your medical records or other evidence, that contradiction can suggest someone is trying to cover up malpractice.
- Informed consent forms – If there are discrepancies between what you agreed to when you signed the informed consent form and what happened during the procedure, those discrepancies can help demonstrate how a healthcare provider acted negligently.
Examples of Surgical Errors
Surgical errors in Syracuse and Central New York take many forms, including:
- Surgeons performing procedures on the wrong side or wrong part of the body
- Surgeons performing an incorrect procedure
- Surgeons leave surgical tools or instruments inside patients’ bodies
- Surgeons causing nerve damage during a procedure
- Anesthesia errors
- Perforated or punctured internal organs
- Infections due to unsanitary conditions or poor post-surgery monitoring
- Failure to properly monitor patients’ vital signs during and after a procedure
- Improper sutures to close an incision after a finished procedure
Compensation for Surgical Errors in New York
Unlike many states, New York does not cap your potential compensation in a medical malpractice case. This is good news, though you’ll still need legal guidance to maximize your compensation. Our team can help you seek compensation for:
- Any current and future medical expenses related to your injuries
- Your lost wages while you heal
- Your decreased earning potential due to your injuries
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Diminished quality of life
Deadline to File a New York Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
New York law gives you two years and six months from the date you sustained your injuries to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. While you may be allowed more time if your injuries weren’t immediately obvious, that’s not guaranteed. Talking to a lawyer as soon as possible gives you the best chance of recovering fair compensation for your losses.
Contact a Syracuse Surgical Error Lawyer Now
CDH Law PLLC understands the drastic consequences of surgical errors and can be your champion in your fight for fair compensation. Call us now or complete our contact form for a free case evaluation.
Carden Dotzler Hammond, PLLC represents clients in Syracuse, Central New York, and in the following towns and villages of Onondaga County: Camillus, Cicero, Clay, Dewitt, Elbridge, Geddes, Manlius, Marcellus, Onondaga, Salina, Skaneateles, Baldwinsville, East Syracuse, Fayetteville, Jefferson County, Liverpool, North Syracuse, and Solvay.