Ohio Anesthesia Error Lawyer

Anesthesia Mistakes in Ohio

For any medical procedure, you need everything to go as planned. You need the best physicians and nurses on your team. You assume that having well-educated and experienced doctors will decrease the chance of anything going wrong. However, medical errors, including anesthesia mistakes, happen.

In fact, medical errors as a whole has become so common that researchers now cite them as the third leading cause of death in the U.S.

If you are injured because of a mistake made with anesthesia, you may have the right to recover compensation from the physician or hospital. Through an Ohio medical malpractice claim, you can show that a physician or another person on the medical staff committed an act or omission that resulted in harm or that the provider negligently hired, trained, or supervised the medical staff.

For more information about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, call Kisling, Nestico & Redick at 1-800-HURT-NOW to schedule an initial consultation.

Anesthesia & Common Anesthesia Mistakes

There are four primary types of anesthesia used during surgery and other medical procedures: general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, sedation, and local anesthesia. Sometimes patients may choose which type of anesthesia will be used. In other cases, the procedure will require a certain type of anesthesia, or the medical professional will make the determination.

Your anesthesiologist or another provider should discuss the type of anesthesia and how it will be administered during your procedure.

• A local anesthetic is used when only a small area of tissue is numbed, such as a portion of your mouth for a root canal.
• Regional anesthesia is used when a larger portion of your body, usually a cluster of specific nerves, is anesthetized. This enables a portion of your body to be operated on while you are awake or sedated.
• General anesthesia is used when you are made entirely unconscious and unaware of what is going on. This can be induced through medications or gasses.

While issues can arise with all types of anesthesia, general anesthesia is where mistakes often have the most significant consequences. And while you should be aware of your options and risks, anesthesia mistakes still occur and are commonly caused by:

Communication errors between physicians

Anesthesia is not only a complex science, some anesthesiologists consider it as a subjective craft. It takes understanding a number of factors about patients, including their gender, age, weight, allergies, and previous experiences with drugs to determine the appropriate medications and dosages. Without thorough communication between physicians, medical staff, and the anesthesiologist, mistakes are likely to be made.

Drug interactions

When an anesthesiologist must administer medications to a patient, it is crucial that they know what drugs the patient is already taking. Without this, the doctor may use a medication that could lead to a serious interaction or contradiction.

Failure to properly monitor

When a patient has been administered an anesthetic, they must be closely monitored. More medication will be necessary during a long procedure. Additionally, physicians must keep a close eye on how the patient is reacting to the anesthetic, including monitoring breathing and heart rate.

Failure to intubate when appropriate

Some patients need assistance breathing during a procedure that requires a general anesthetic. This requires intubation. However, anesthesiologists can fail to intubate a patient when necessary or can make a mistake during the process, causing the patient harm.

Incorrect dosage

Providing a patient with too much or too little anesthetic can cause serious medical issues and even death. When a person is in a medically induced unconscious state for too long, they can slip into a coma or suffer a brain injury. If a patient is not given enough medication throughout the procedure, they can regain consciousness and possibly feel yet not be able to speak or move. This is known as anesthesia awareness.

Improper training or certification

It is possible that a nurse or another technician will administer anesthesia after having been provided hands-on training but not actually have the proper education or certification.

Effects of an Anesthesia Error

When you have to go under for surgery, you take it for granted that an experienced anesthesiologist will be at the helm. Of all the things you worry over, being unconscious during the procedure is not usually one of them. However, your anesthesiologist, surgeon, nurse or other hospital staff can make mistakes or behave negligently when it comes to your anesthesia. An avoidable mistake can cause serious and irreparable harm.

The consequences of an anesthesia mistake will depend on the type of error, the procedure in question, and the subsequent response. The most common injuries caused by anesthesia errors include heart attack or stroke, spinal cord injuries, asphyxia, damage to the trachea, brain damage, coma, and death.