Surgical Errors

Before you have surgery you should be told of the risks of the surgery. Depending on what the precise procedure is, common risks are bleeding, pain and damage to nerves. By agreeing to have the surgery, the law presumes that you have accepted these risks. They are called inherent risks. If an inherent risk of the procedure happens, the law states a doctor or hospital is not at fault. It is just an unfortunate risk of a surgery that has occurred.

A surgical error on the other hand is something which is not an inherent risk of the surgery. It is something that should not occur if the surgeon performed the surgery competently. It is when a surgical error takes place that you may have a medical negligence claim.

1. Operating on the wrong body part
2. Accidently cutting an artery or nerve
3. Incorrectly inserting a medical device
4. Breaking a tooth during a dental extraction
5. Failing to give adequate analgesia or sedation
6. Failing to monitor a person’s condition during surgery and missing a deterioration or complication
7. Leaving a surgical instrument in a patient

To help you consider whether you have received negligent treatment, here’s a few things to ask yourself:

1. Have I got what I expected from the treatment?
2. What did my doctor tell me to expect would happen?
3. Has the treatment caused me further injury?
4. What has the doctor done afterwards?

These are the sorts of questions a lawyer will ask you.

Point 3 above is really important.  In medical negligence claims you must show that the doctor caused you further injury.  This is called causation. You will not be successful in a claim if you only show that the doctor was negligent, but did not actually cause you any further injury.

The types of compensation that may be awarded are:

1. Previous lost wages for your time off work;
2. If your injuries will affect your ability to work in the future, then your future lost wages;
3. The cost of treatment, medications, disability aids and pain relief in the past and future;
4. Care and assistance provided to you by family and friends;
5. Pain and suffering; and
6. Loss of enjoyment of life.

Sometimes a doctor operates when they didn’t have consent to do the surgery. When this happens a doctor has committed a battery. Not many people are aware of these types of claims. Because of our expertise in medical negligence claims, we are alert to the possibility of running battery claims.

For more information see:

• Consenting to Health and Medical Treatment
• Beware of the Consent form

Medical negligence claims are not just another type of personal injury claim. Just as you would see a specialist for complex health conditions, you should see a specialist for a medical negligence claim. The best way to quickly find out whether you may have a claim is to talk to an expert. We have expertise in health and medical law and for Canberra, Queanbeyan and South East NSW, Matthew Bridger and Thomas Maling are the specialists in medical negligence claims.

We have:

• Inside knowledge about the health industry (one of our lawyers was a Registered Nurse);
• University acquired knowledge about injuries and disease; and
• An understanding of how healthcare should be provided.