The parents of a child who underwent a procedure to remove a benign growth received a $1.5 million settlement when the procedure went wrong in 2012. The child, six years old at the time of the operation, did not receive an MRI prior to the surgery, as was the recommendation of a consulting radiologist. The radiologist suggested the MRI as a way to determine whether or not the growth truly needed to be removed, as the procedure to do so carried great risk. The parents of the child noticed a problem with facial droop immediately after the operation, though the attending surgeon insisted that the droop was merely a result of routine bruising and swelling. When it did not resolve, the parents, though legal professionals, accused the surgeon of being negligent. The case was settled out of court—one week before the trial would have been held.

According to HealthHype.com, facial droop is a condition which results in a sagging face and is caused by loss of facial muscle tone. Several natural causes can lead to facial droop, and include a malfunction of facial nerves which result in the distortion of normal facial structure.

The facial nerve is one of 12 cranial nerves that emerges directly from the brain and is considered high risk for complications. According to HealthHype, botched surgeries are a main cause of facial droop. Common procedures that can go wrong and result in droop include tumor resection anywhere along the facial nerve, surgery of the parotid gland, acoustic neuroma resection, mastoid surgery, tonsillectomy, and some dental procedures.

Another common cause for facial droop, which may be the fault of a medical professional, is birth trauma. According to The New York Times, the incorrect use of epidural anesthesia or improper use of medication to induce labor can lead to facial droop. The Times reports that facial droop affecting the lower part of the facial nerve is the most common type of facial nerve palsy resulting from birth trauma.

If you or someone you know has experienced facial droop as a result of a medical procedure, you may be eligible for compensation. Do not go through it alone. Contact an experienced Connecticut medical malpractice attorney today.

This November, a California surgeon was placed on probation after mistakenly removing a patient’s right kidney. The operation, conducted in 2012, was supposed to be performed on the patient’s left, cancerous kidney. The surgeon, a urologist who was licensed for 41 years, performed the operation from memory—a mistake that has since required an additional surgery for the patient.

While wrong-site operations are not the most frequent of surgical errors, they are more common than one may think. A 2010 study of 6,000 doctors revealed 27,370 adverse events which occurred during surgeries performed between January 2002 and June 2008. Twenty-five were identified as wrong-patient surgeries and 107 were identified as wrong-site operations. “Of these,” reports USA Today, “five patients who received unnecessary surgery and 38 who received wrong-site operations were significantly harmed.” One patient who underwent a wrong-site surgery died as a result.

Additionally, a 2006 study reported by CNN revealed even more disturbing statistics. The study found that approximately 2,700 mistakes that involve a wrong-patient or wrong-site operation are made every year. When broken down, this equals nearly seven mistakes made every day. And while the mistakes may not be made intentionally, when they do occur, they can have far-reaching, negative consequences.

Doctor Marty Makary, a surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital, reported in The Wallstreet Journal that although doctors take a vow to do no harm, they also operate under another unspoken rule in the field: “to overlook the mistakes of our colleagues.” Makary revealed how the astute perception of a nurse once saved him from cutting into a patient’s lung after an intern had prepped the wrong side. He also added how “U.S. surgeons operate on the wrong body part as often as 40 times a week.”

One recent event in Oregon left a little boy, who had come in for surgery to correct a lazy eye, with two painful operations. As the doctor was completing the procedure, she realized the operation had been performed on the wrong eye. “I feel like we had a right to know the second she realized she was in the wrong eye,” the boy’s mother told CNN. As a professional surgeon, the boy’s mother believes the doctor should have realized right away that she was not operating in the eye with the problem.

When a doctor makes a surgical error, such performing a wrong-site operation, a patient is likely eligible for compensation. If this has happened to you, you do not have to go through it alone. Contact a compassionate and experienced Westport medical malpractice attorney today. We are here to help you get the compensation you deserve.

Routine Surgery Results in Severe Medical Trauma

Earlier this year, a Connecticut woman was awarded $12 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit after her colon was punctured during a routine hernia surgery. The error led to a massive abdominal infection. Additionally, the woman went into septic shock and suffered a heart attack and organ failure. The woman then fell into a month-long coma, had to have a large part of her large intestine removed, and also sustained permanent injuries.

Common Surgical Errors

According to CNN News, medical errors, such as the one noted above, kill more than 200,000 people every year in the United States. Medical professionals estimate that these serious types of medical errors are the third-leading cause of death in the U.S.

One of the most common types of medical errors is the accidental puncturing of an organ. In fact, a report from the National Institute of Health (NIH) states that laparoscopic surgery carries severe risk of puncturing an organ and is by far the most common type of operation for women addressing gynecological issues. WebMD notes that more than 4,000 preventable mistakes—such as the puncturing of an organ, operating on the wrong body part, or performing an incorrect procedure—occur annually and result in an impressive $1.3 billion in medical malpractice payouts every year.

Contact a Connecticut Medical Malpractice Attorney

Having surgery can be frightening—especially when considering the risks and the potential for human error. If you recently underwent surgery and experienced a resulting injury, severe medical trauma, or were not made sufficiently aware of the surgical risks, you may be eligible for compensation. The most important step to determine if this is the case is to seek the counsel of a legal professional. You do not have to go through it alone. Contact a dedicated Westport medical malpractice attorney today to discuss your case. Call 203-226-6168.