If you have a stroke during surgery, you may wonder whether or not you can file a malpractice claim to recover for damage that the stroke caused. Likewise, if you are the family member of a person who suffered a stroke during surgery, you may wonder if you can sue on behalf of your family member if he has passed away or become incapacitated.
Filing a Claim for Stroke During Surgery
Whether or not you can file a medical malpractice claim for a stroke during surgery depends on the cause of the stroke. If the stroke happened naturally, and the doctor was not negligent or careless in either recommending or performing the surgery, then unfortunately, you cannot recover for the stroke. Sometimes bad things just happen, and if no one caused them, then there is really nothing you can do and no one you can blame.
On the other hand, sometimes a stroke during surgery is caused by a doctor's negligence. The stroke may have been caused by malpractice on the part of the anesthesiologist, or on the part of the doctor who was performing the surgery. The stroke may even have been caused because the doctor who recommended the surgery didn't do a proper pre-examination or take a proper medical history and as such was negligent in recommending the surgery in the first place.
To be able to recover, you need to prove:
- That the doctor performed some aspect of his job with less than the level of care a reasonable doctor would have used, thus breaching the standard of care.
- That the breach of the standard of care directly led to the stroke
- That the stroke caused some type of injury to you that can be compensable.
If you can prove these elements, you can file a medical malpractice claim. If the stroke caused death or incapacity on the part of the victim, his family member or attorneys can file a claim on his behalf or can file a wrongful death claim. They can also file a claim for their own loss, in the form of a loss of consortium or loss of companionship claim.
Getting Help
Proving a medical malpractice claim can be difficult and it often comes down to expert testimony. Consult with an experienced personal injury attorney who can provide you with detailed information on how to prove your claim.
