It is almost unrealistic to believe that a surgeon can perform an operation on the wrong side of a patient’s body, but this mistake does happen in the healthcare environment. When a patient has experienced the operation on the wrong side of the body, it is called a wrong-site, wrong-procedure, wrong-patient error or WSPEs. These surgical procedures should never happen, and are dubbed “never events” meaning that they are errors that are completely preventable with care from the healthcare team.
Wrong Side Body Surgeries Are Not Rare, They Can Occur to Anyone at Any Time in Life
If you have scheduled a surgical procedure on your left leg, you would be horrified to wake up from your surgery to discover that the wrong leg was operated on during the surgery. Any time that a wrong-site surgery on the person’s wrong side of the body is involved, you will want to look the legal action of negligence or malpractice by the operating surgeon or doctors. There are many features of a wrong-side or wrong-site surgery, and it can occur on any part of the body. There are also wrong patient surgical procedures that are performed by doctors and surgeons on a person with another person’s similar name.
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Opening Up a Patient on the Wrong Side of the Body – Left Instead of Right – Right Side Instead of Left Side – Attorney
It is nearly unforgivable that a surgeon can perform an operation on the wrong side of a patient’s body. The operations performed on the wrong side of the body or on the wrong body part come with no general explanation, it has to be negligent to the uppermost degree that this could ever occur to a person. When you go to your doctor and you are referred to a surgeon for an operation or surgical procedure, you are trusting that the healthcare and medical professional knows what he or she is doing at all times in relation to your care and surgical procedure.
What Must a Surgeon Do Before Performing a Surgical Procedure on a Patient?
A surgeon must review the patient and mark up the person’s body with a felt tip pen, to “sign the site” where the surgeon will be operating. You may have been in a doctor or surgeon’s office, and the surgeon used a felt tip pen to draw on your body, to point out where the surgery will take place. That was not done for no reason, but was performed for a very special reason, in fact. The surgeon will discuss the surgery with the patient, and if there are any discrepancies, that is the time that the patient can speak up and say that the surgery is going to be performed in the wrong place or on the wrong body part. In neurological surgical procedures, the doctors need to take special care to operate on the correct side of the body. The cranial surgical procedure includes shaving the scalp of the patient, but this is not performed until the person is already under anesthesia.1 If the brain surgeon has the wrong side of the person’s head mapped out for surgery, there is no opportunity to verify it with a patient already under anesthesia or unable to confirm which side of the body is being operated on for the surgery. In the case of a spinal surgical procedure, it is not possible to sign the site of the surgery, as there are no external areas that can be determined when the lumbar spine is being operated on by the surgeon. What should be done, and we are not surgeons here, but the surgeon operating on a patient should have already done preoperative x-ray film or other internal imaging, and have arrows, markers and other clarifying designations on the film that are taken into the surgery theater for the operation. In no way are we trying to tell a surgeon how to do his or her job, but it stands to reason and common sense, that the performing of a surgical procedure in the wrong area of a person’s body should never happen. This situation should never come to pass, ever, and it is to be considered egregious, grossly negligent and the epitome of malpractice when it does occur. If you have experienced being operated on the wrong side of the body or on a wrong body part, you need to call our office immediately. We will give you the access you need, to talk to our legal team of lawyers with experience in personal injury cases related to an accident of a surgeon or doctor performing surgery on the wrong side of your body. Call us now, we are here for you 24/7 and can take your call any time you dial us for justice.
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We offer a zero-fee guarantee, which means that you never have to give us any money in advance before we will start working hard on your personal injury case. Just call us today, and we can start your claim to a beneficial recovery compensation package that will pay off all of your medical bills related to this case.
Free Second Opinion Case Review / Experienced Lawyers in Performing Surgery on the Wrong Side of a Patient’s Body
When you have had the traumatic accident of a surgeon or doctor performing surgery on the wrong side of your body, you need someone to talk to who understands the complete value of your ordeal. You need to call our professional legal team, to talk to a lawyer with a specialty in personal injuries against medical malpractice and negligent actors at healthcare providers. You can talk to us today, and call our legal team for a private discussion of your claim with an experienced attorney in Los Angeles at the Normandie Law Firm.
Can I Sue for a Healthcare Provider, Doctor, or Surgeon Performing Surgery on the Wrong Side of a Patient’s Body?
Yes, we can sue for the unbelievable accident of a surgeon or doctor performing surgery on the wrong side of your body. You may have suffered new and different untold complications for problems that you never had before, and you can feel comfortable calling our Los Angeles case lawyers, who can file a lawsuit on your behalf related to this case. You will want to discuss your claim for free with our case attorneys in Los Angeles at the Normandie Law Firm. We can sue the at-fault healthcare providers and hospitals and will get you the recovery compensation that you deserve in this case.
Average Case Value of Performing Surgery on the Wrong Side of a Patient’s Body
The average case value of performing surgery on the wrong side of a person’s body can range from $300,000 to over $3 million, and will depend on the exact nature of your personal injuries. Your injuries will be specific to you, and will include your medical bills, pain and suffering, medical losses, damages, lost wages, loss of consortium and any other related medical complications that you now have to manage on account of this horrific accident and personal injury. You can get the process started to a full recovery compensation package now, by calling our legal team today. We are here to help you, and to give you the peace of mind that you deserve in this case.
How Long Does It Take to Settle and to Get Paid on These Cases?
It can take 3-5 months to settle your claim for an accident of a surgeon or doctor performing surgery on the wrong side of your body. We will review all of your doctor’s bills, medical information, and surgical notations, to help you get the recovery compensation package that you need and deserve in this type of claim. You can start the process by calling us now, at the Normandie Law Firm today.
Statute Of Limitations – How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit?
The statute of limitations in California for personal injury lawsuit filing is two years. The statute of limitations in California for harassment and discrimination lawsuit filing is one year, with a two year timeframe to file for wrongful termination.
Call for a Free Consultation
If you have been wondering what to do after the egregious accident of a surgeon or doctor performing surgery on the wrong side of your body, you can call us not to review your case with a free case consultation. We are here to answer any questions that you might have in this confusing time of your life and of your case. Just call us today at the Normandie Law Firm at 800.790.5422.
References
1Jhawar, B. S., Mitsis, D., & Duggal, N. (2007). Wrong-sided and wrong-level neurosurgery: a national survey. Journal of Neurosurgery: Spine, 7(5), 467-472.
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