Although surgeries occur in medical facilities throughout the nation on a daily basis, there is no such thing as a typical operation. In Louisiana and elsewhere, any patient undergoing a surgical procedure takes on an inherent risk. However, patients may reasonably assume that doctors, nurses and other staff members will act with caution to prevent surgical errors and other mishaps that could result in serious injuries to patients.
Recent reports suggest that many surgical errors that should have been entirely preventable are associated with cataracts eye surgeries. Among mistakes most commonly occurring are those involving wrongly administered anesthesia, implantation of incorrect lenses and procedures performed on the wrong patients. There have apparently been several reported incidents of permanent vision loss due to such surgical errors.
Most eye surgeons are normally aware of various cautions considered standard toward the safety of patients. For instance, it is typically well known among surgeons that the least amount of anesthesia possible should be used to prevent complications during eye surgery. One patient advocacy center has expressed its concern with the issue and is promoting programs to develop tools to help eye surgeons prevent cataracts surgery mistakes.
Patients in Louisiana whose lives have been adversely affected by surgical errors may consider filing medical malpractice claims in court. Such claims place the burden of proof on the plaintiff, however; therefore, it is advisable to act alongside experienced counsel when pursuing this type of legal action. An attorney can aggressively litigate a claim in order to seek the maximum amount of compensation to which an injured patient may be entitled.
Source: wwlp.com, “Patient safety center report targets cataract surgery “never events”“, Katie Lannan, Accessed on May 12, 2016
