Dangerous Anesthesia Errors That Can Hurt Patients

When you go to a hospital or clinic for a doctor’s appointment or emergency treatment, you expect that you are in good hands. Doctors and other medical professionals are given years of training in order to learn how to use medical equipment correctly and treat patients with respect. However, accidents occasionally happen despite the many precautions in place, whether due to an equipment malfunction or medical malpractice. This includes accidents related to anesthesia errors, which can harm or even kill patients.

Anesthesia is an incredible medical tool that prevents millions of patients from feeling pain during surgeries and other medical procedures every year. Unfortunately, there is always a potential for error. Our medical malpractice attorney at The Pittman Firm, P.A. explains the most dangerous anesthesia errors and their effects.

Common Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesiologists are trained professionals who are equipped to administer all types of anesthesia.

The three main types of anesthesia are:

• General anesthesia: This renders a patient completely unconscious.
• Regional anesthesia: Only a single part of the body is numbed, usually a large area (as in the case of a spinal block).
• Local anesthesia: Anesthesia is applied only to a small, localized part of the body.

All three of these types have the potential to be administered improperly, causing discomfort, injury, or even death.

The most common types of mistakes in administering anesthesia are:

• Administering either too great or too small a dosage
• Intubating (the insertion of a tube through the mouth) the patient improperly
• Failure to monitor a patient properly
• Failure to recognize complications as they are developing
• Failure to monitor oxygen delivery
• Failure to give a patient proper instruction on how to prepare for surgery
• Accidentally or intentionally turning off the alarm on a pulse oximeter, a device which measures the oxygen level of a patient’s blood
• Unintentional administration of anesthesia, such as when devices aren’t clean and anesthesia residue is given to a person accidentally

• Documentation errors

Injuries Which Can Result From Anesthesia Errors

Common complications which arise from improper anesthesia use include:

• Nausea and/or vomiting
• Delirium and/or temporary confusion
• Regaining consciousness during an operation or procedure
• Tooth damage (due to improper intubation)
• Sore throat
• Damage to the larynx
• Anaphylaxis (serious allergic reaction from the anesthesia)
• Respiratory problems
• Pneumonia
• Brain damage (due to lack of oxygen)
• Stroke
• Nerve injury
• Blood clots
• Heart attack
• Death

What to Do If You Encounter an Anesthesia Error

Fortunately, most medical facilities and professionals work diligently to prevent such dangerous and potentially deadly errors. However, if you or a loved one is inadvertently injured by an anesthesia error, you know who to call. Our medical malpractice attorneys have successfully litigated hundreds of cases in which patients were injured by caregivers, winning millions for our clients.

Contact The Pittman Firm, P.A. today to speak with an experienced and diligent medical malpractice attorney.