Virginia Surgeons Need to ID Their Patients to Avoid Errors

Imagine you go into the hospital for removal of a cyst on your neck and wake up missing a kidney. Sounds like something out of a horror movie, doesn't it? Unfortunately, this is an actual type of surgical error that can occur when the hospital staff fails to properly identify a patient prior to and during surgery.

There are many excuses hospitals make for wrong patient surgery. Miscommunication is the chief culprit because there are so many people involved in a single procedure. Nurses, surgeons, anesthesiologists, pharmacists and even the reception staff are all involved in the proper identification of the patient.

Time is also sometimes cited as a cause for surgical errors when a procedure is performed on the wrong patient. When surgical teams are rushed to get a patient into surgery, especially when the procedure is an emergency case, they often neglect to perform the proper safety checks to identify the patient.

Another reason given for patient misidentification is that 2 patients have the same last name and got mixed up. Hospitals identify every person with a wrist band, and it doesn't take long to compare that with a chart. Even with such defenses, patient misidentification is a form of negligence.

Negligent hospital staff is the cause of almost all surgical errors. You should go into surgery knowing that you have a trustworthy, experienced medical staff watching over you during the procedure. Surgical errors that occur because of negligence are the grounds for a Virginia medical malpractice claim, which can be the only way you can recover the damages you suffered from your surgical team's negligence. 

Contacting a Fairfax Medical Malpractice Attorney

You don't have to deal with insurance companies and hospitals alone when you're looking to file a Virginia medical malpractice case. Fairfax medical malpractice attorney Ben Glass fights to help victims in the Virginia and D.C. areas settle their medical malpractice claims.

Before you go any further with your decision, order a copy of my complimentary guide to Virginia medical malpractice claims, Why Most Victims of Medical Malpractice Never Recover a Dime. To set up a no-cost consultation, contact me today - 703-591-9829.