Medications and Anesthesia in Florida: Medical Malpractice
Most of us that have experienced a routine surgical operation got through it without incident. We were (hopefully) informed of the possible risks, and able to make an educated decision about whether to go through with the surgery. One of the most dangerous things about surgery is not the medical procedure itself, but going under anesthesia. Like vaccinations and medication, dosage and administration of anesthesia are critical and must be precise in order to avoid complications that may turn fatal in certain circumstances.
Medication and Dosage Errors
Before even getting to the point where a patient is anesthetized, a patient’s history is carefully scrutinized to avoid any adverse reactions between the anesthesia administration and medication that may be in the patient’s system. Doctors will, ideally, monitor your medication intake in the weeks leading up to surgery and wean you off of them accordingly, when necessary. However, any number of reactions may occur if you accidentally omit information the physician should have known about or if the physician fails to investigate your medical history adequately.
Height, weight, and whether you have experienced surgical anesthesia complications in the past are all additional indicators to a physician about the relative safety of your surgery. There might be other factors at play too—such as a preoperative sedative that might be given to an antsy patient waiting to go under. Other forms of anesthesia, such as a spinal or epidural, may have other possible consequences that must be evaluated in light of their need and use in that particular instance.
Anesthesia Negligence
Not enough anesthesia could lead to a patient waking up and suffering severe physical and emotional trauma; too much could kill a patient or leave them in a permanent vegetative state. We trust our doctors to find the right balance between fixing our problems and keeping us safe while doing so. Though 99% of the time we go to visit our doctor, our dentist, or our surgeon and leave without incident, accidents still do happen. It is not wrong for us to rely on the training, experience, and expertise of the physicians with whom we entrust our lives, but it is important to recognize the fallibility of human hands.
Doctors have an obligation to their patients to thoroughly and accurately record their medical histories, provide correct dosages of medications and anesthesia, and take precautions to avoid unnecessary injury. When this trust relationship between a physician and patient is broken, the doctor must be held responsible for the damage he or she inflicted on the individual under their care.
Medical Malpractice Attorneys in Miami, Florida
If you or anyone you know has been injured at the hands of a physician you should have been able to trust, you may be entitled to compensation for your injuries and pain and suffering. At Alan Goldfarb, P.A., our knowledgeable medical malpractice attorneys handle cases involving all kinds of medical negligence, including anesthesia errors leading to brain damage, organ damage, or death. If you have been wronged by a physician, contact our Miami office for a complimentary consultation to learn more about your legal rights today.
