An anesthesiologist is a highly educated physician. Whether applying topical or local anesthesia or using various combinations of medications to render you unconscious and unable to feel pain, anesthesiologists are constantly dealing with potentially dangerous drugs. Like all doctors, anesthesiologists are expected to perform these important duties with a reasonable degree of care. If an anesthesiologist fails to exercise that level of care, he can be held liable for medical malpractice.
Defining Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is a form of tort law and is governed under standard tort law principles. To prove medical malpractice, you must prove:
- That the doctor failed to act was a reasonable degree of care
An anesthesiologist would be compared to another anesthesiologist in determining whether he breached the required standard of care or not. For example, if a reasonable anesthesiologist would not have made a mistake and given you too high a dose of drugs, or if a reasonable anesthesiologist would have monitored your vital signs more carefully- and your doctor fails to do so, then he can be held liable.
When a case goes to court, a jury rarely knows off hand whether your anesthesiologist behaved reasonably or not. After all, understanding the complex medical terminology and the events that occurred that led up to your injury is usually highly technical. As such, whether you win your case or not often comes down to whether your expert witnesses can convince the jury that your doctor provided a standard of care below the required level.
- That the doctor's breach of the duty of care was the proximate or direct cause of your injuries.
If something went wrong during the surgery, you need to prove that the anesthesiologist's negligence was the cause of the problem. Sometimes, this can be easy to do - if you got the wrong dose of medication and it caused you to go into shock, the improper dosage more likely than not caused that event.
- That you actually suffered damages
You can recover from your anesthesiologist for any medical bills you incurred as a result of his negligence, as well as any lost wages if you were forced to miss work. Pain and suffering and emotional distress may also be available. Punitive damages are limited, but permitted in some states if the doctor's behavior was egregiously negligent or motivated by financial gain.
Some states also have damage caps. For example, California limits you to $250,000 in non-compensatory damages, which means damages not designed to repay you for actual money spent or lost.
Getting Help
If your anesthesiologist was negligent or made an error during your surgery or medical procedure, consult with an experienced personal injury attorney as soon as possible. Your attorney can evaluate your case and determine whether you may be able to recover. He can also help you to begin gathering the evidence you need to prove your damages.
