During many surgical treatments like bariatric surgery in New York hospitals, spinal anesthesia has to be administered to the patient. Spinal anesthesia is generally administered with a needle, thus there is some risk of injuring a patient during the injection process.
During many surgical treatments like bariatric surgery in New York hospitals, spinal anesthesia has to be administered to the patient. Spinal anesthesia is generally administered with a needle, thus there is some risk of injuring a patient during the injection process.
Unless the spinal anesthesia injection is given at the exact spot, there is a heightened risk of injuring the spinal cord. Moreover, other complications can occur due to the excessive use anesthesia, use of little anesthesia, or the use of wrong anesthesia.
The most common anesthesia administering errors
The most common anesthesia administering errors in New York hospitals include:
- Injecting the wrong kind of anesthesia
- Using too much or too little anesthesia
- Improper intubation leading to tooth damage
· Turning off the alarm on the Pulse Oximeter that indicates the blood-oxygen level
- Improper monitoring of patient condition
· Failing to monitor the delivery of oxygen to the patient
- Failure to provide proper and sufficient patient instructions for surgery
- Failure to monitor and move patient during long surgery leading to optic nerve injury
The possible injuries due to spinal anesthesia administering errors
The most common complications from anesthesia related problems include sore throat, allergic reaction, vomiting, pain after surgery, blood clots, delirium, tooth damage, breathing problems, pneumonia, heart attack, stroke, or neurological disorders.
Medical negligence amounting to medical malpractice
Typically, you as a victim of spinal anesthesia errors will try to prove medical negligence if you aim to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the New York-based anesthetist or the hospital or both. In order to prove medical negligence, the common approach that an expert medical malpractice attorney in New York is likely to embrace is proving that the anesthetist failed to exercise reasonable care and caution while treating a patient in surgery.
During the court proceedings in a medical malpractice case, medical negligence is equated to a medical specialist’s failure to exercise reasonable care and caution that is expected of an average specialist who practices a certain specialty in a modern healthcare environment.
How to prove liability in spinal anesthesia related medical malpractice?
In order to build a strong medical malpractice case, the first thing that a New York attorney has to determine is whether the hospital, or the anesthetist, or both are liable. Here are some common approaches used to determine the liability in spinal anesthesia related malpractice claims:
- When the anesthetist happens to be a direct employee of the NY hospital, then the hospital automatically assumes liability for any wrongful action of the anesthetist.
- When the anesthetist is deemed as an independent contractor, the NY hospital may or may not be liable for hiring and retaining a negligent anesthetist. However, if the anesthetist is found to be under much administrative control of the hospital, then the hospital will be liable for the anesthetist’s wrongful action.
- When a NY hospital equipment or instrument is responsible for the spinal anesthesia mishap, the hospital will be held liable for not maintaining quality and safety standards in surgery procedures.
If the anesthetist is found to be an independent contractor who acted in free will, then the medical malpractice case will name the anesthetist as the defendant. Otherwise, both the NY hospital and the anesthetist will be identified as joint defendants in the medical malpractice case.
The attorney will also sort out other issues as the statute of limitations imposed by New York State, the availability of evidence, eye-witness accounts, and the support of an external medical expert to prove the medical negligence in the case.
The best law firm in NYC is RMFW Law
If you or your close family member has been a victim of spinal anesthesia mistake, get in touch with a legal team in New York like Rosenberg, Minc, Falkoff, & Wolff of RMFW Law at 212-344-1000. The first consultation is free. Let us hear about your case!
We have many satisfied clients and we know how to win cases and we have expert witnesses that can possibly back up your claim. We look forward to hearing from you.
