In a case of wrong site surgery, the medical team operates on the wrong body part: amputes the wrong leg, performs a mastectomy on the wrong breast, or cuts into the wrong part of the brain, for example. While fortunately one of the rarer forms of malpractice, wrong site surgery is also among the most devasting: a debiliating or dangerous condition goes untreated, while a healthy body part is damaged or removed.
How Do Surgeons Know the Correct Body Part
Sometimes, the correct body part to operate on should be obvious, as in the case, say, of a gunshot wound. However, often it's not: the condition or disease (such as cancer) is hidden inside. When that's the case, how do surgical teams know what to operate on?
Medical teams are supposed to follow a strict protocol, or process. They should review the medical records ahead of time, verifying all the critical information: patient, condition, operation, site. They are supposed to mark the site to be operated on--literally; they use marker or the equivalent--prior to operating. And before actually cutting, they are supposed to pause, take a metaphorical deep breath, and verify again that they are performing the right procedure on the right part of the right patient.
Almost always, if the steps are followed correctly, the right body part will be operated on. It is when one or more steps are ignored--often because busy, overbooked surgeons or hospitals are running behind schedule and try to catch up by cutting corners--that most wrong site surgeries occur. Of course, sometimes the procedures were followed and a surgeon still cuts into the wrong part, but the protocols are usually successful at preventing wrong site surgery.
Proving Wrong Site Surgery
Wrong site surgeries are usually easy to prove. It is accepted medical procedure to follow the protocol; if any steps are omitted, that itself will often establish liability. Or if the steps were done correctly and the surgeon still operated on the wrong part, it's easy to establish that the surgeon was careless. If the right foot was marked for amputation, but the surgeon cut off the left, there really is no viable defense.
Who Should Talk to a Lawyer
A malpractice attorney can usually tell very quickly whether the proper protocols were followed or not, and if they were, whether the surgeon still ignored them. After that, the attorney move forward with the lawsuit, to make sure that a patient injured by wrong site surgery receives the compensation he deserves.
