We just read about a fascinating study that was published by the British Journal of Surgery. In it, researchers had a surgeon wear a Hexoskin Smart Shirt under his scrubs while he was performing surgery. The shirt ran a continuous electrocardiogram while he performed surgeries. They also used laparoscopic video recordings from the surgery to discover surgical errors. By combining this data, they were able to determine that the surgeon “made up to 66 percent more surgical errors during periods of high stress compared to lower stress intervals.”
At The Weitz Firm, LLC, we understand that surgeons have a naturally stressful job. We also realize that they should take steps to minimize the stress they experience inside the operating room so they do not cause major harm to their patients. If you need a Philadelphia surgical malpractice attorney, you can count on us to be by your side.
Medical Mistakes Are Common
We applaud any move towards reducing the amount of preventable medical deaths in the US. Most estimates now say that medical mistakes are responsible for over 250,000 deaths annually. More needs to be done to lower this number. Surgical errors are perhaps the scariest of all medical mistakes. You have likely heard about “never events” that occur during surgery:
- Operating on the wrong body part.
- Operating on the wrong person for the wrong procedure.
- Leaving surgical objects inside of a person.
The consequences of these mistakes can be:
- temporary injury (59 percent)
- permanent injury (33 percent)
- death (6.6 percent).
Most never events must be reported, which is why we hear about them so often. What is not required to be reported as widely are the more “minor” surgical errors. Unfortunately, these errors can also have devastating consequences.
We know that one way to cut down on all mistakes made in surgery is to improve pre-surgical procedures. This includes everyone on the surgical team is aware of the patient’s medical history, a complete review of the medications the patient is on, as well as a talk-through of the procedure to be performed.
No surgeon should ever operate if they feel they are too fatigued to do so. While we understand that surgery itself presents a high-stress environment, many of the mistakes made can be prevented by an alert surgical team.
What Can You Do Now?
We know that the last thing you expected when you or a loved one needed surgery was that a mistake would be made. Surgical errors are major events and can cause irreparable harm to patients. If you have been the victim of a surgical error, we want to help. When you need a Philadelphia surgical malpractice attorney, you can count on the team at The Weitz Firm, LLC to work hard to secure the compensation you need. This can include medical expenses, pain and suffering damages, as well as punitive damages. You do not have to do this alone. Contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 267-587-6240.
