Anesthesia helps countless patients avoid pain, but it can also cause life-altering injuries and even death. Although anesthesia errors are uncommon, mistakes can and do happen in hospitals across America. If you’re an attorney working on a medical malpractice lawsuit involving anesthesia errors, the team at Cardinal LifeCare Consulting can assist with your case.
We can help you determine the applicable standards of practice, understand your client’s future medical needs and related expenses, analyze and organize important medical records, serve as expert witnesses, identify and screen medical specialists to serve as expert witnesses, create a life care plan, research the relevant medical literature, and prepare evidence for trial. To find out more, call us today at 724-487-0519.
Causes and Injuries
Anesthesia helps prevent pain and suffering during medical procedures. However, administering this drug is a delicate balancing act that can have dire consequences for the patient if administered incorrectly.
An anesthesia overdose can lead to asphyxia, brain injuries, coma, strokes, heart attacks, paralysis, spinal cord injuries, and nerve damage. While an underdose can result in anesthesia awareness, a terrifying condition wherein the patient cannot communicate or move but still experiences pain during the surgical procedure. This experience can lead to long-term psychological issues and conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and insomnia.
Common anesthesia errors can include:
- Administering excessive anesthesia;
- Administering too little anesthesia;
- Administering the wrong type of anesthesia;
- Adverse reaction between the anesthesia and other medications the patient is taking;
- Defective electronic equipment used during procedure;
- Delayed delivery of anesthesia;
- Failure to check whether patient is allergic to anesthesia; and
- Poor monitoring of patient’s condition during the procedure.
Road to Recovery
The patients who survive anesthesia errors are often left suffering from severe injuries. Not only do these patients require multiple treatments, surgical procedures, rehabilitation, and medication to treat the damage caused by this mistake, they may also struggle with emotional and psychological issues that require long-term therapy.
At Cardinal LifeCare Consulting, we will use medical records, evidence-based guidelines, and recommendations from medical specialists to establish actionable goals for the patient, determine which treatments and nursing care services will be needed, and prove that those services will be essential for helping the patient attain optimal recovery.
Life Care Planning & Expert Witness Services for Medical Malpractice Cases
If you are an attorney involved in a medical malpractice case concerning anesthesia errors, Cardinal LifeCare Consulting is here to help. Contact us today at 724-487-0519 to find out more.
