Anesthesia Errors
Medical Malpractice Attorneys in South Jersey

Anesthesia is a common factor in many surgeries. When you’re wheeled into the surgical suite, you have agreed to surgery with the reasonable expectation that the medical professionals managing your care are well trained and competent to perform the surgery and keep you safe.

The general anesthesia used during surgery renders the patient unconscious and unable to feel pain, within a controlled environment overseen by the anesthesiologist. However, anesthesia errors can and do occur, sometimes causing the death of the patient. In fact, 1 out of every 200,000 to 300,000 patients die due to anesthesia errors. That may seem like a low number, until you understand that millions of surgeries are performed each week. It doesn’t take long to hit 300,000 surgeries in the U.S. alone. If an anesthesia error happens to you or a loved one, you’ll need the qualified litigation skills of New Jersey’s Anapol Schwartz at your side.

Common Types of Anesthesia Errors

While errors in anesthesia can occur for many reasons, the most common reason is medical negligence. Additional errors include:

• Errors in anesthesia dosage
• Delayed delivery of anesthesia 
• Failure to intubate, or to intubate properly, causing injury
• Failure to monitor patient properly
• Failure to recognize complications
• Leaving the patient unattended 
• Turning off the pulse oximeter alarm (therefore missing dangerous vital signs) 
• Improperly or negligently administering oxygen during surgery
• Drug or alcohol use by medical provider in charge
• Staff communication errors throughout the surgery
• Dangerously prolonging sedation
• Errors caused by defective equipment

The anesthesiologist is reasonably expected to have current medical knowledge, and the provider can be held responsible for injury or death due to the error. This means you may be compensated for, among other things, damages including:

• Past and/or future medical expenses
• Loss of income
• Disability
• Pain and suffering

Potential Injuries from Anesthesia Errors

• Damage to the trachea
• Injury from intubation errors
• Asphyxia (lack of adequate oxygen)
• Heart attack, stroke and other cardivascular injuries
• Birth defects
• Loss of bodily function
• Brain damage or traumatic brain injury 
• Spinal cord injury, including paralysis
• Coma
• Death

A Word About Anesthesia Awareness

The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations has stated that as many as 42,000 Americans experience anesthesia awareness each year. What is anesthesia awareness? A particularly terrifying experience in which the patient wakes up during surgery, most often due to medical error or equipment malfunction or failure. Typically, patients are conscious and can hear conversations in the room, but feel paralyzed and unable to speak. The worst part of anesthesia awareness is that the patient may be able to feel the pain of surgery, but cannot communicate this to anyone. It is not difficult to imagine how completely traumatizing this condition would be for you or a loved one. Those injured by anesthesia awareness may be able to seek compensation for losses and pain and suffering.

Would you like to learn more about your legal rights and your options? Please contact the knowledgeable and qualified New Jersey medical malpractice attorneys at Anapol Scwartz for a free, confidential consultation to thoroughly answer your questions and decide on the best course of action for your individual situation.