Anesthesiology Errors

Anesthesia is an important part of any type of surgery and many other medical procedures. There are three main types of anesthesia: local, regional, and general. Unfortunately, even today we see errors in the administration of anesthesiology, resulting in injury or death. In fact, anesthesiology errors are among the most common types of medical malpractice we see. 

When an error occurs with anesthesia, numerous complications can arise. One of the most serious anesthesia errors is anesthesia awareness, which occurs when the patient wakes up during the surgery and can see and feel what is going on. As you can imagine, this is very serious and could bring both physical and emotional trauma. While we trust doctors, surgeons, anesthesiologists, and other medical professionals and hold them to a higher duty of care, often this trust is broken. Mistakes happen, but in most cases, they could have been avoided. If you have been the victim of an anesthesiology error in Florida, please contact Wormington & Bollinger to schedule a free consultation with our medical malpractice attorneys.

What Are the Different Types of Anesthesiology?

• Local anesthesia – The drug is applied to one small area of the body
• Regional anesthesia – The drug is administered to a specific part of the body, such as the spinal column or abdomen
• General anesthesia – The patient is completely unconscious during the procedure

Common Examples of Negligence by an Anesthesiologist

Anesthesia errors range and depend on a host of factors. Some of the most common types of anesthesia errors that may result in a medical malpractice claim include:

• Administering the wrong drug
• Administering too much of the drug
• Administering the wrong dosage of the drug
• Giving the patient a drug they are allergic to
• Failing to properly monitor vital signs
• Failing to listen to and make changes based on a patient’s vital signs
• Failing to recognize adverse drug reactions that may be caused by interactions between the anesthesia and other medications the patient is taking
• Failure to provide proper instructions before the anesthesia is administered 
• Failure to consider how the patient’s positioning may affect their blood pressure or blood supply to the brain
• Defective equipment used during the administration of anesthesia

Complications of Anesthesia Errors

Some of the most common complications that may arise following an anesthesiology error include:

• Pain
• Nausea and vomiting
• Temporary mental confusion
• Allergic reaction
• Brain damage 
• Internal damage
• Nerve injury
• Death
• Heart attack
• Stroke 
• Blood clots
• Pneumonia and other respiratory problems
• Tooth damage due to the placement of the tube 

These are just some of the common complications we see. While most are minor, the most serious ones can result in long-term damage or the loss of life. If you have been the victim of an anesthesia error, please contact our Florida medical malpractice attorneys today and schedule an appointment to discuss your case.

We have licensed lawyers in Texas, Florida, Colorado, and New Mexico and are happy to discuss your medical malpractice case with you today.

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