Scottsdale Surgical Error Lawyer

Few human experiences leave us as vulnerable as surgery, requiring our total dependence on our surgeon and surgical team while we are completely incapacitated. Fortunately, most surgeries are successful, or at least do not cause harm, but it only takes one careless error for a patient to experience a life-altering injury.

If you’ve suffered a surgical error in Scottsdale, call an experienced Phoenix medical malpractice attorney from Knapp & Roberts to learn more about your legal rights and options for financial accountability.

Why Choose Knapp & Roberts as Your Surgical Error Attorneys In Scottsdale?

At Knapp & Roberts, we have over 30 years of experience navigating some of the most medically and legally complex medical malpractice claims, with exceptional results for our clients. With an attorney from Knapp & Roberts on your side, you have the following advantages:

• A dedication to advocating for catastrophic injury victims or surviving family members
• Our history of success in recovering millions of dollars for our clients lends your claim a renowned legal voice
• We personalize a legal strategy based on the unique circumstances of each client’s case, with the goal of achieving the most favorable result
• A commitment to professional excellence and compassionate representation, with your compensation as our highest priority
• Access to renowned medical experts to provide supporting evidence in your claim

After a free consultation, we will work for you at no upfront cost. Instead, we only get paid after we’ve recovered compensation for you through a settlement or court award.

Common Types of Surgical Errors In Scottsdale, AZ

An alarming study of 258 surgical error claims reported that 65% of the cases resulted in major injury and 23% caused the patient’s death. The most common surgical errors reported include the following types:

• Wrong-patient surgeries
• Wrong-body-part surgeries
• Wrong-side surgeries
• Anesthesia errors
• Accidental injury to adjacent blood vessels or organs
• Surgical tools or gauze left in a body cavity
• Tracheal injury or rupture from improper intubation
• Spinal cord injury caused by improper surgical positioning
• Surgical awareness

Surgical errors are not as uncommon as we’d like to think and can result in adverse, life-altering injury or death. Some types of surgical trauma are considered “never events” by the medical community. Never events are those considered so serious that they should never occur because the medical community has universal safety protocols in place to prevent them. Never-events in surgery include wrong-patient, wrong-side, and wrong-site surgeries, as well as surgical awareness. Despite these protocols, surgical never events, such as surgical awareness and wrong-patient surgeries, continue to occur.

What Causes Surgical Errors?

When we allow our surgical team to put us under anesthesia, we take a leap of faith that we’ll wake up again in a better medical condition than when we left. While not all adverse outcomes are caused by medical malpractice, some of the most common medical errors during surgery include the following:

• Communication errors between administration, staff, and the surgical team
• Failure to follow surgical protocols for identifying the patient and reaffirming the type and location of a surgical procedure before beginning surgery
• Surgeon fatigue, incompetence, or impairment
• Inadequate patient monitoring
• Improper patient positioning
• Improper intubation technique
• Failure to obtain a complete patient history
• Lack of informed consent
• Incorrect instrument counts

When a surgical error causes you harm, it can be physically and emotionally devastating. Some surgical errors cause permanent or catastrophic injury. In the worst cases, a surgical error can cause wrongful death.

While no legal process erases a serious or catastrophic injury, a successful claim brings compensation for your economic damages, pain, and suffering. However, under Arizona’s medical malpractice laws, the injury victim has the burden of proof in medical malpractice claims and must demonstrate compelling evidence of the at-fault provider’s liability. For this reason, hiring an experienced medical malpractice attorney is a crucial first step in your case.

Proving Liability In Scottsdale Medical Malpractice Claims

Most personal injury claims center on the understanding that we all owe a general duty of reasonable care to others so that we don’t cause them injury. Medical malpractice claims are different due to a doctor’s enhanced duty of care. A successful claim requires evidence that meets the following legal standards of liability for medical malpractice:

• First, there must be evidence that a doctor/patient relationship was in place at the time that the malpractice occurred
• The  evidence must show that the medical provider owed a legal duty of care to their patient, requiring them to provide treatment at the medical community’s accepted standard of care
• The evidence must demonstrate that a breach of this duty of care occurred through negligence
• The evidence must show that a breach of duty directly caused the patient’s injury, a worsened medical outcome, shortened life expectancy, or wrongful death
• Finally, the evidence must confirm that the injury victim suffered economic and non-economic damages from the injury

Damages in Scottsdale medical malpractice claims add up quickly when a serious injury interferes with all aspects of life, including the ability to return to work and support yourself and your family.

Recovering Damages In Scottsdale Surgical Error Cases

When a serious medical malpractice injury causes temporary or permanent disability, economic damages add to the distress of the physical suffering. A successful medical malpractice claim recovers compensation for damages such as the following:

• Reimbursement for your medical expenses
• Anticipated future medical expenses related to the malpractice
• Out-of-pocket costs
• Lost earnings
• Future income loss or diminished future earning ability
• Compensation for pain and suffering
• Catastrophic injury compensation if you’ve suffered permanent harm, such as disability, scarring, loss of limb, organ loss, hearing loss, loss of vision, or diminished quality of life.

If a medical malpractice injury causes wrongful death, a close surviving family member can recover compensation and a sense of justice through a medical malpractice wrongful death claim.

Call or Contact Knapp & Roberts Online About Your Surgical Error Case In Scottsdale

A medical malpractice injury is a betrayal of the trust we put into those we rely on for our crucial healthcare needs, especially for surgery. It causes deep distress as well as physical and financial harm. While nothing erases the harm caused, a successful medical malpractice claim in Scottsdale ensures that you and your family recover the compensation you need and the sense of justice you deserve. Contact Knapp & Roberts for your Scottsdale, Arizona, medical malpractice claim.