Wrong-site surgery is a shocking example of medical malpractice or negligence arising from poor preoperative planning, lack of institutional controls, failure of the surgeon to exercise the required due care, and in some cases just simple mistakes in communication. Many times surgeons may try to blame their medical mistake on the patient by suggesting that he or she pointed to the wrong body part prior to the surgery but this method of fallacious rationalization will never hold water. There are always pre-surgical multiple x-rays, medical records, as well as previous surgical reports that would function to specify which exact body area was to be surgically corrected and was which parts of the body were in no way involved. The surgeon should have been fully familiar with those medical reports and records and never rely on a patient’s ability to point out the surgical site.
Wrong-site Surgery Professional Negligence Per Se
Wrong-site surgery is not just an orthopedic surgery problem occurring where an orthopedic surgeon operates on the wrong limb. It is a system wide problem affecting equally all other surgical specialties. Malpractice insurance companies have collected evidence showing that 84 percent of the medical malpractice claims involving wrong-site orthopedic surgery claims resulted in indemnity payouts to the plaintiff/claimant while all other types of orthopedic surgery claims were paid on only 30 percent of the time. In short, it is clear that operating on the wrong site equates medical negligence per se, or presents a medical error and deviation from the standard of care that is obvious and irrefutable all by itself without additional evidentiary proof of negligence, a perfect example of the “speaks for itself” “res ipsa loquitur” standard.
Common physician or surgeon errors that result in wrong-site surgeries:
- Copies of the operative permit/informed consent form failed to note the site and side of surgery.
- Surgeon failed to initial the operative site in permanent marking pen.
- Surgeon failed to involve the patient in confirming the operative site during the marking of the operative site by the surgeon.
- Immediate members of the operating room team failed to verify the correct site.
- Surgeon failed to verify that X-rays and medical records he was using were from the correct patient
- Surgeon failed to confirm the identity of the patient.
- In spine surgery or when a bone is not identifiable visually, surgeon takes intra-operative X-ray using markers that fail to confirm the correct operative site.
There have unfortunately been countless wrong site surgeries negligently performed on helpless patients. Some of these procedures have even resulted in wrongful deaths. One example of a wrongful death resulting from a wrong site procedure is where a brain surgeon began an emergency procedure on a woman to remove a life threatening aneurism on the wrong side of her brain. He found that he had made a mistake and began the surgery again on the correct side of her brain but the patient was by then too weak to sustain the process and never regained consciousness. There are many, many similar stories out there, way too many. Some instances show that a simple check of patient medical records prior to beginning a life threatening surgical procedure could have prevented a death or severe injury and incredibly those simple steps were never taken.
Getting Legal Help
If you or a member of your family has suffered injury resulting from a needless medical procedure performed on the wrong site, or a wrong site surgery, it is important to contact a medical malpractice attorney to fully preserve and protect your rights and interests. The financial burden on the injured patient is likely recoverable as well that the loss of consortium with the injured patient and the costs of medical care and on-going medical care. A professional legal representative can timely act to protect an injured patient’s legal rights and interests.
