Surgical Implements Left Inside You: Understanding Your Situation And Suing For Medical Malpractice
It is a common assumption that if surgical implements or tools were left inside you that you should sue the surgeon. The surgeon may be responsible, but sometimes there may be an operating room nurse or a medical intern who stitches you back up, and then who do you sue? It is a complicated situation, and one which a personal injury attorney would help you resolve. Here is how you can better understand how this happened and collect the much needed evidence for your lawsuit.
Understanding the Probability of Surgical Tools Left in You
One report claimed that "one in every seven thousand surgeries" results in a surgical tool or sponge remaining in the body after surgery. That does not seem all that common, but if you suspect that it has happened to you, you need to hire a lawyer right away. Something could have gone wrong at the end of your procedure, and you and your lawyer need to get to the bottom of what happened before you begin to file a medical malpractice suit.
Finding the Evidence of What Went Wrong
If a metal object was left in you, which is much less common than a surgical sponge or other fibrous tool, it will clearly show up on an x-ray. If a sponge or other soft implement was left behind, it will look like a shadowy growth or tumor near your surgical site. The biggest tip-off that something is definitely wrong is that your body will react with violent fevers as it tries to eject the foreign body. Make sure your illnesses, resistance to antibiotics, as well as any other treatments or x-rays are recorded and given to your lawyer to use as evidence. If you have a second surgery to remove the item, request pictures of the item if not the item itself, and keep the records from the second surgery.
Finding out Who You Should Sue
Although your surgeon may have started the surgery and performed the expected procedure, he or she may not have been the one to sew your incisions closed. The problem is, if he handed the closing off to an operating room technician, registered nurse or medical intern and then did not stay to supervise, you may have to sue more than just your surgeon. The medical records and operating notes will not only indicate who performed your surgery, but everyone who was present in the operating room is held liable, regardless of who stitched or stapled you back up.
Your lawyer may suggest that you not only sue the operating room staff, but the hospital as well, because they might have known that there were problems with this surgeon or his/her staff.