Atlanta Wrong Site Surgery Lawyer
Whether surgery occurs in an emergency situation or is scheduled ahead of time, you expect the surgical team to provide you with the highest care and attention possible. Operating on the wrong limb or location is unacceptable by any standard. For this reason, patients who experienced wrong site surgery are sometimes able to mount strong medical malpractice cases under Georgia law.
There are hundreds of reports of wrong site surgery in the United States every year. If you underwent an operation and the surgical team failed to operate on the correct part of your body, you may be entitled to compensation that a skilled surgical error attorney could help you pursue. Talk to an Atlanta wrong site surgery lawyer about recovering financially for injuries and losses incurred by the negligence of others.
Types of Wrong Site Surgery
In a legal sense, wrong site surgery can refer to several circumstances. Sometimes, it takes the form of a surgeon administering one patient’s surgery to another patient. Other times, a surgical team may operate on the right side of the patient’s body in place of the left side, or vice versa. In some cases, surgeons mistakenly pick the wrong body part for the procedure. All three instances can constitute wrong site surgery under Georgia law.
In response to the concerning number of severe and preventable wrong site surgeries in American hospitals, the Joint Commission—the oversight organization that grants hospitals and clinics the right to operate—issued best practices for all surgical staff to follow during each operation. If a surgical team failed to follow designated safeguards and the result was a wrong site surgery, an Atlanta wrong site surgery attorney may be able to recover damages on behalf of an affected patient.
The Impact of Wrong Site Surgery
According to the Joint Commission, wrong site surgery happens about 40 times a week in the United States. Unfortunately, the consequences of such a mistake can be grave for the patient. Potential complications and injuries due to wrong site surgery include dislocated joints or broken bones, the removal of functioning organs, tissue damage, infection, brain damage, and death.
Without a doubt, a patient who does not need a certain surgery will not benefit from it. Moreover, he or she may suffer economic damages—medical bills and time without work—and non-economic damages—the lasting effects of pain and trauma—because of the mistake of the practitioner.
Furthermore, following wrong site surgery, a patient will still need his or her scheduled surgery. Unfortunately, he or she may have suffered too much physical or emotional pain to undergo the correct procedure. An Atlanta lawyer experienced with litigating botched surgeries may be able to help an individual recover compensation under these circumstances.
Recovering Damages in an Atlanta Malpractice Lawsuit
Initially, a lawyer can review the timeline of a case to determine if the incident occurred within the “statute of limitations”—a two-year window established in Official Code of Georgia §9-3-71 wherein medical malpractice cases can be brought to court.Under no circumstance, can a medical malpractice lawsuit be filed more than five years after the incident due to Georgia’s statute of repose.”
A lawyer could also assist an injured patient with obtaining an “expert affidavit”—the testimony of a medical expert who can explain the medical error in layman’s terms to a judge and jury. O.C.G.A. §§ 9-11-9.1 and 24-7-702 provide more information about the expert affidavit requirement.
How an Atlanta Wrong Site Surgery Attorney Could Help
Patients entrust surgeons with their lives, and they never expect these professionals to make careless errors. Mistakes like misidentifying the right side of the body from the left side, reading an x-ray slide backwards, carrying out a procedure ordered for another patient, or operating on the wrong part of the spine or skeletal system are unacceptable.
Because many hospitals are not required to disclose wrong site surgeries, you may need to fight for justice in a court of law. To find out if you may qualify for compensation in your situation, schedule a meeting with an Atlanta wrong site surgery lawyer today.
