Doctor Removes Wrong Kidney during Surgery
Recently, a Minnesota doctor was indefinitely suspended from performing surgery after he removed the wrong kidney from a cancer patient. The wrong-site surgery occurred in 2008. And, just a few months after that, the doctor performed a biopsy on a patient’s pancreas when it should have been done on the kidney. The doctor’s defense was that he was distracted by his beeper and other patients and did not get around to reading the radiologist’s notes. The cancer patient, who was left with one cancerous kidney, had to go through another operation to save the kidney.
Wrong-site surgery occurs when a surgeon or another caregiver goes into the wrong part of the body during surgery or an invasive procedure. This is a serious problem because it results in people either suffering major, long-term health effects or having to undergo additional surgeries or procedures. We often hear about doctors operating the wrong knee, wrong side of the shoulder or the wrong finger. Sometimes, the mistake is made on internal organs when a surgeon operates on the wrong kidney, ovary or any other internal organ that is on both sides of the body.
Wrong-site surgery usually happens because of communication problems between the surgeon and his or her staff. There may be many other issues, but usually it is caused by a breakdown in communication, which can be easily avoided. If you or a loved one is a victim of wrong-site surgery, then you very likely have a medical malpractice claim against the surgeon and hospital.
If your loved one has been seriously injured by medical negligence as a result of surgical errors, please contact the reputed Seattle personal injury attorneys at The Bernard Law Firm to find out about your legal rights and options. Please call us at 1-800-418-8282 or e-mail us at info@bernardlawgroup.com to schedule your FREE, comprehensive and confidential consultation. We can also send you our FREE informational brochure about Washington medical malpractice cases, which has useful, educational information to help you understand your rights. Get in touch with Kirk Bernard and his skilled legal team today.
Source:http://www.officialwire.com/main.php?action=posted_news&rid=48345&catid=60
