If you keep tossing and turning at night thinking that your recent surgery was unnecessary, you may have a point. If you are right about this, you may be able to sue your doctor, physician, or surgeon for putting you through a surgery that was not necessary in the first place.

What do we mean when we say “unnecessary surgery”? In a nutshell, it means a surgery that was not vital, beneficial or helpful for your condition. An unnecessary surgery also means that it was performed for a non-existent or minor condition, or that there were other, less invasive and lower-risk treatment options available.

If this sounds like your situation, you need a Philadelphia unnecessary surgery attorney by your side, as you may be entitled to seek financial compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Why do doctors order and perform unnecessary surgeries?

But let’s try to figure out why do surgeons, physicians, doctors and other healthcare providers order and perform surgeries that are not medically necessary in the first place? “There can be multiple reasons,” says our experienced unnecessary surgery attorney in Philadelphia at The Weitz Firm, LLC.

  • Incompetence or lack of experience, skill, or knowledge (the doctor or surgeon wholeheartedly believes that a surgery is the only option left, when, in fact, there are other, less invasive treatment options available);
  • Greed or selfish desire to earn money (in other words, self-enrichment);
  • The fear of medical malpractice lawsuits for failure to treat in a timely manner is prompting surgeons to perform surgeries they might otherwise pass up;
  • Attempts to take a shortcut (the reasoning behind this is that a doctor wants the patient to see improvements faster, though it does not always mean that the option to undergo surgery benefits the patient);
  • Failure to thoroughly review the patient’s medical records to ensure that the surgery is necessary to treat the condition, injury, or illness; and
  • Failure to comply with textbook recommendations and safety protocols when treating patients.

As you can see, doctors may order unnecessary surgeries for a number of reasons.

Unnecessary surgery: Does it constitute medical malpractice?

Let’s also not forget that the U.S. healthcare system rewards and pays surgeons and other medical professionals for the number of successful procedures they have performed.

In other words, the more surgeries a surgeon performs, the more he or she earns through rewards from the healthcare system. This is clearly a problem for doctors who have a penchant for self-enrichment, which, unfortunately, occurs at the expense of their patients’ wellbeing and health.

However, in many cases where unnecessary surgery is ordered, the medical professional might simply lack experience, skill, or knowledge and believe that invasive surgery is the only viable option left.

Establishing negligence after a surgery is ordered or performed

More often than not, you will have to consult with a Philadelphia unnecessary surgery lawyer in order to determine whether the doctor’s recommendation for surgery was negligent. In addition to seeking legal help from a medical malpractice attorney, you might also require testimony from an expert medical witness.

The following things will be taken into account in order to determine whether the surgery you have undergone was necessary or unnecessary:

  • The severity of your medical condition prior to the surgery;
  • Your complaints to the doctor pre-surgery;
  • Objective medical findings made by the doctor that would indicate the reasonable need for surgery;
  • The doctor’s level of skill, knowledge, and experience in treating your condition;
  • Whether the medical textbooks recommend surgery as the only option to treat your condition or there are other, less invasive and lower-risk options available;
  • The doctor’s pre-surgery explanation;
  • Whether or not the doctor tried to coerce or fool you into agreeing to undergo the surgery; and
  • Risk factors for adverse outcomes of the surgery (and whether it was worth it), and whether your doctor discussed them with you before the surgery.

As you can see, there are many factors that come into play when determining whether the surgery was necessary or unnecessary. Let our skilled medical malpractice lawyers at The Weitz Firm, LLC, review your particular case and determine whether or not your doctor, physician, surgeon or other healthcare provider was negligent when ordering or performing unnecessary surgery. Call our offices at 267-587-6240 for a free case evaluation.

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