Anaesthesia errors and medical negligence

Whether a procedure is routine or complex, doctors often use anaesthesia to prevent pain during surgery. Typically, anaesthesia is administered for the duration of the surgery and wears off after the surgery is completed. Medial errors with anaesthesia can have debilitating or even fatal consequences and can indicate medical negligence which you have the right to pursue as a patient. Anaesthesia errors can occur for a number of reasons. But when medical negligence is the cause, an attorney can help you pursue compensation for your injuries and damages.

Different types of anaesthetics include:

Local:
Local anaesthesia numbs only the area that is undergoing surgery and allows a patient to remain conscious during the procedure. This is often used in minor procedures.
Regional:
Regional anaesthesia is administered to numb a certain part of the body. There are two forms of regional anaesthesia, spinal and epidural. Epidurals are injected into the lower spine and used during childbirth to numb the pelvis area. A spinal anaesthetic is injected near the spinal cord to numb the lower body for orthopaedic procedures or caesarian sections.
General:
General anaesthesia is used to put a person to sleep during surgery. Before surgery, an anesthesiologist may administer an IV or give a patient a breathing mask to inhale anaesthesia, causing a patient to lose consciousness for the duration of the surgery.

Often, the root cause of anaesthesia errors medical malpractice is due to the anesthesiologist making simple errors in judgment or overlooking obvious signs that reflect the danger to their patient including:

Defective equipment
Administering an overdose due to an inadequate examination of a patient’s history
Administering the wrong dosage
Failing to properly educate the patient about food or alcohol restrictions before or after the procedure
Negligence when monitoring a patient’s vital signs
Incorrectly intubating a patient

Anaesthesia errors are usually more dangerous than surgery mistakes. Even a small error by the anesthesiologist can result in:

Brain damage or traumatic brain injury
Coma
Birth defects
Tracheal damage
Cardiovascular injury
Asphyxia
Loss of bodily function
Spinal cord injury or paralysis
Death

How do I pay the legal fees?

We do consider medical-legal matters on our ordinary no win no fee basis if the case qualifies

Learn more about medical negligence claims

If you would like to institute or pursue a medical-legal claim with the assistance of Malcolm Lyons and Brivik, contact us on the details below. Malcolm Lyons and Brivik specialise in medical law, personal injury law, labour and road accident fund claims and have been recognised as leading attorneys in South Africa since 1965.