Atlanta Objects Left in Body Lawyer
When you undergo a surgical procedure, you trust your surgeons to carry out the surgery correctly and not make mistakes. All too often, however, surgical teams make errors that may constitute medical malpractice. An Atlanta objects left in body lawyer could analyze your situation and determine whether you have a valid medical malpractice claim.
All hospitals and surgical centers have specific protocols designed to prevent these errors. Nonetheless, surgeons, nurses, and surgical technicians may choose to disregard these standard practices, which is how many of these errors occur. A personal injury lawyer could represent your interests in seeking compensation for the injuries that you have suffered as a result of this disregard for protocol.
How Foreign Objects in the Body Create Further Complications
While some prosthetic and fixed devices are made to remain in the body following surgery, most foreign objects are supposed to be removed. Some common examples of these foreign objects include surgical sponges and gauze, surgical needles, and clips. When surgical teams leave these items in the bodies of patients, severe complications may result.
If the object irritates nearby tissues, organs and nerves, patients may discover these objects soon after surgery. However, in some cases, patients may not experience complications until much later. Some of the problems that foreign objects left in the body may cause include:
- Life-threatening infections;
- Tissue, nerve, and blood vessel damage;
- Damage to surrounding organs; and
- Additional surgical procedures to remove the object.
All these complications could result in more pain, higher medical expenses, and extended recovery times. When this situation occurs, patients may be entitled to damages from those whose negligence caused their injuries. An objects left in body lawyer in Atlanta could advise injury victims about their rights to compensation under these circumstances and identify the cause of negligence with the help of an in-house medical professional.
Retained Surgical Items and Safety Procedures
Surgical teams are supposed to follow strict protocols during surgeries to prevent them from leaving surgical items behind in patients, among other errors. For instance, surgical assistants should inventory all surgical instruments and sponges both before beginning the surgical procedure and before closing an incision and finishing the procedure. If these inventories reveal a missing surgical item, then the surgeon could take immediate action to locate and remove the object.
Other examples of commonly retained surgical items are surgical sponges. These sponges often are used within an incision during the procedure and quickly become saturated with blood. Although it is easy to miss these sponges following surgery, the existing protocols, if followed, should eliminate this error.
Retained surgical foreign bodies could become highly problematic for these patients. In some cases, complications may not arise until much later, which make the injuries difficult to diagnose. Consulting an objects left in body attorney in Atlanta when this situation occurs could allow these patients to explore their legal options.
Special Statute of Limitations for Retained Surgical Items
Because patients who often have foreign objects negligently left in their body may not learn of the presence of the foreign object until sometime later, Georgia law allows for a special statute of limitations in these cases. Instead of having two years from the date of the surgery where the foreign item was left in the body, patients can have one year from the date the foreign object is discovered to file their lawsuit.
Call an Atlanta Objects Left in Body Attorney for Advice
Through a medical malpractice claim, injured patients may be able to recover the costs of their medical expenses for locating and removing the foreign object. An Atlanta objects left in body lawyer could be instrumental in helping patients hold negligent surgeons and medical personnel responsible for their errors. Attorneys with experience using cutting-edge technology could work as a team to help victims obtain their needed compensation.
Reach out and speak directly to an attorney who is ready to offer a free case review. Attorneys take calls after hours, so call when you are ready.
