Sometimes the results of surgery are not what the patient envisioned when they signed up to have the procedure done. The patient is left to find a way to pay down the cost of the surgery and follow up care but also a need to handle emotionally, physically and financially an unexpected and adverse surgical result. His thoughts inevitably turn a need to understand how it happened and to identify the fault force at work. Was it really just tough luck or was the doctor something of a surgical hack?
Bad Result v. Medical Malpractice
It may be important to consider whether the adverse surgical result suffered was just a “bad outcome” which did not happen due to any act of professional negligence by the physician. Sometimes even with the very best of medical and surgical care the outcome is disappointing. Sometimes a patient’s health is just not strong enough to bring to fruition the great surgical result hoped for by the patient and promised by the doctor. In that situation nobody is at fault; it was just the roll of the dice, craps you lose. However, in other situations, a patient may believe that he has suffered a surgical injury which was completely preventable and which happened specifically due to an act or a failure to act by the surgeon which clearly fell below the acceptable standard of care provided to patients by competent physicians in his same surgical field.
Determining Medical Negligence
There are several elements that must be evidenced to prove to evidence an act of professional negligence in surgical setting.
- A duty of care was owed the patient by the surgeon
- The duty of care was breached by the surgeon’s failure to conform to the relevant standard of care for his profession.
- The breach of the standard of care must be shown by expert testimony, or in the case of obvious errors, res ipsa loquitur, the negligent act can speaks for itself without more.
- The breach of duty caused either a direct injury or was the proximate cause of an injury to the patient.
- Damages, which may include personal injuries and financial losses
Getting Legal Help
If you or a member of your family has suffered an injury due to a “surgical procedure gone wrong” it may be important to contact a medical malpractice attorney to discuss the circumstances of the surgery and the injury. Determining fault or liability of a healthcare provider can be a complicated process which is best evaluated by a legal professional after a thorough investigation of the situation the caused the injury.
