Whether an unnecessary surgery constitutes unnecessary surgery malpractice, and in turn, grounds for a viable medical malpractice claim, depends on the individual events surrounding a given patient’s surgical procedure. If a surgical procedure was of no medical value, consent to the procedure was not obtained appropriately or under fraudulent pretenses, or the surgeon operated in a manner well beneath the standard of care, the unnecessary surgery most likely constitutes malpractice. If a surgeon performed a surgical procedure, which stemmed from a reasonable, medically based concern, but ultimately proved unnecessary, the unnecessary surgery may or may not constitute malpractice. Only a case-specific analysis of a given surgical procedure by an attorney can truly determine whether a patient’s procedure is grounds for a viable malpractice suit.
Negligence and Unnecessary Surgeries
Most determinations on whether an unnecessary surgery is tantamount to malpractice will rely on patient’s proving their surgeon and surgical procedure was negligent. Any negligence claim must be grounded in facts supporting the idea that a given surgeon deviated from the standard duty of care when performing the surgery on a patient. In turn, the patient will seek to show that another reasonably competent surgeon, when faced with exact same patient and situation, would have not ordered the surgical procedure.
Damages Relevant to Unnecessary Surgeries
Any surgical procedure involving anesthetic or incision of the patient contains inherent risks, which can prove fatal for patients, regardless of the nature of the procedure. Furthermore, any patient living through an unnecessary surgery still faces recovery from the procedure, from a medical and physical standpoint. From a financial standpoint, the costs of surgery and post-operative care are not negligible, nor are the other financial losses sustained by a recovering patient or the non-economic damages suffered by a patient. All of these concerns can be parlayed into viable damage claims stemming from unnecessary surgery.
Determining Doctor and Hospital Liability for Unnecessary Surgery
In unnecessary surgery malpractice claims, both surgeons and hospitals may be held liable for damages resulting from the unnecessary surgical procedure. To determine liability for damages, a patient must determine negligence has occurred, which will typically involve having a third party expert medical witness review the surgical procedure, including considering factors such as patient symptoms, investigating the diagnosis method used by a surgeon, and analyzing treatment decisions made by a surgeon. From this information, a solid determination of whether a doctor, and their employer hospital, deviated from the standard of care can occur.
Getting Legal Help with Unnecessary Surgery Claims
If you feel you have endured an unnecessary surgical procedure, you must consult with an attorney as soon as possible to reserve and act upon your legal rights as a patient. Every determination of negligence and malpractice regarding an unnecessary surgery case is done based on the individual factors and characteristics relevant to each individual claim. Only a comprehensive review of your claims case by an attorney can determine whether you have a viable malpractice case against a given surgeon or hospital.
