Knoxville Anesthesia Error Attorney
Anesthesia is a necessity to protect patients from feeling any pain during a medical procedure. However, administering anesthesia isn’t without risk. Errors happen all the time. Unfortunately, the results are often catastrophic or deadly. If a medical mistake occurs, it’s crucial to determine whether you have a valid medical malpractice claim or not. To learn more and find out the best way to proceed, contact a Knoxville anesthesia error attorney at Atkins Brezina, PLLC, today.
Most Common Anesthesia Errors
Some of the most common anesthesia errors involve medical negligence. Examples include:
- Wrong dosage of anesthesia
- Dangerously prolonged sedation
- Delay or Failure to intubate
- Delay delivery of anesthesia
- Faulty equipment
- Failure to monitor faulty equipment
- Failure to acknowledge and respond to complications of anesthesia
- Turning off the alarm on the pulse oximeter
- Not informing a patient about the instructions before, during, or after the procedure
The harm or injuries caused by an anesthesia error often depend on the type of medical mistake, when the mistake is recognized and the subsequent care response from the rest of the medical team.
Anesthesia Awareness
Anesthesia awareness occurs when a patient who is under general anesthesia regains awareness of his/her surroundings, while still paralyzed and unable to speak. Some of these patients also report experiencing severe pain. This mistake can leave patients with severe emotional problems, such as anxiety, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, and sleep problems.
How Anesthesia Errors Occur
There are several situations where anesthesiologists can make mistakes that lead to catastrophic injuries for the patient. Examples of anesthesia errors include:
- Accidentally giving too high or too low of a dose of specific medication
- Miscommunication with other Care Providers
- Failing to administer oxygen correctly or timely
- Accidentally (or otherwise) turning off the alarms on vital equipment
- Miscalculating the time to give anesthesia, thereby delaying its administration
- Placing the oxygen machines near hot surgical devices
- Failing to react in time to someone who is experiencing an adverse reaction
- Misjudging or miscalculating the time the patient is under anesthesia
- Setting the wrong flow on the IV drip
- Failing to monitor faulty equipment
Complications of Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia errors can result in minor or severe complications. Some of what may be considered more “minor” complications include confusion, ringing in the ears, and blurred vision. Failure to correctly monitor oxygen levels can result in hypoxia, which can cause brain damage or brain death if the levels are too low or the patient is hypoxic for too long. This injury can also result in paralysis, seizures, blood pressure problems, coma, or even death. Some of these patients can also develop an abnormal pulse or heart arrhythmia, or even cardiovascular collapse.
Contact a Knoxville Medical Malpractice Lawyer
The damage and consequences of anesthesia errors will depend on the type and severity of the mistakes made. Medical malpractice cases are very complicated, which is why you should speak with an experienced Knoxville anesthesia error attorney to find out what your legal rights are. Contact Atkins Brezina, PLLC , today to schedule an initial consultation to learn how we can help.
