When one seeks medical services from any professional medical service provider, it is reasonable to expect a high quality of care.  Tragically, over 200,000 patients per year are the victim of a medical error or omission by an anesthesiologist.  A medical error involving anesthesia can result in serious injuries including brain damage and even wrongful death.  Injuries caused by anesthesia errors typically involve administering an incorrect dose or an overdose.

When a person undergoes a surgical procedure, the process will often entail one of several forms of anesthesia.  The type of anesthesia that poses the greatest risk is general anesthesia.  When general anesthesia is employed, the patient typically will be unconscious or semi-conscious and will not remember what occurred during the procedure.  The use of general anesthesia always involves a certain degree or risk and as many as 1 in 200,000 patients are killed by general anesthesia each year.  Many times during a surgical procedure the surgical team needs the patient to remain conscious so regional or local anesthesia is utilized.  Regional anesthesia is the most common type of anesthesia and usually numbs an entire portion of the patient’s body.  Local anesthesia is used when only a small area needs to be numbed.

While anesthesia errors can be caused by a variety of factors, the most common cause is some form of professional negligence.  If serious injury or wrongful death that is caused by anesthesia could have been prevented by conforming to the standard of care that would be ordinarily exercised by other anesthesiologist in the region, patients that suffer serious injury or death caused by an anesthesia error or omission may have the right to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice to recover damages, including medical expenses, loss of wages, pain and suffering, impairment of quality of life and marital relationship and other damages depending on the specific circumstances of your medical malpractice claim.

The most common forms of medical malpractice involving anesthesia include the following:

Dosage Errors:  This type of error involves administering too much or not enough anesthesia.  Sometimes these errors are a result of improper labeling of the anesthesia.

Failure to Adequately Review Medical History: Some patients have specific issues in their medical background that must be evaluated when using anesthesia, such as past heart conditions including heart attacks.  An anesthesiologist must be aware of this type of medical issue when administering anesthesia.

Lack of Monitoring: Because there is inherent risk associated with the administering of anesthesia, it is imperative that patients who are receiving anesthesia be constantly monitored.  The anesthesiologist is expected to monitor a patient’s level of consciousness and watch for any distress.

Failure to Properly Intubate: Intubation is necessary when general anesthesia is used because anesthesia paralyzes the diaphragm, which makes it necessary to use a ventilator for breathing.  When mistakes are made during the intubation procedure or the anesthesiologist fails to intubate the patient, serious damage can occur including brain damage or death due to oxygen deprivation.

Anesthesia Awareness: This is a particularly horrific form of medical malpractice where the patient is not given sufficient anesthesia.  The patient may be aware of pain but unable to communicate during the procedure.  A patient who is subjected to this type of medical malpractice may suffer the excruciating pain of surgery without the benefit of being numb or unconscious.

Other errors or omissions that may form a basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit against an anesthesiologist include:

• Improper administration of oxygen during surgery
• Administering anesthesia while under the influence of alcohol/drugs
• Use of medical equipment that is defective or improperly maintained
• Permitting inappropriate proximity between hot  medical equipment and oxygen

These are a few of the types of medical mistakes that an anesthesiologist may make, which may provide a basis to pursue a legal claim for medical malpractice in Mississippi.  Litigation of a medical malpractice case involving anesthesia error requires use of medical experts and extensive resources.  Our Mississippi anesthesia error lawyers will carefully evaluate your medical history, the details of the medical procedure, potential issues involving those on the medical team and other facts to develop the most persuasive anesthesia malpractice litigation strategy on behalf of our clients.

There are many types of mishaps and injuries that can occur when anesthesia is being administered during a medical procedure.  Some of the most common or serious types of injuries include:

• Cardiovascular injuries (heart attack/stroke)
• Spinal cord injuries (SCI) that may impair sensation and movement
• Other impairment of bodily functions
• Coma
• Asphyxia
• Injury to the trachea caused by intubation
• Wrongful death

If you suffer any of these serious injuries because of an anesthesia mistake, our experienced Mississippi anesthesia medical malpractice lawyers are committed to assisting victims of substandard medical care obtain the financial compensation to rebuild their lives.  At Barrett Law, our experienced Mississippi personal injury lawyers represent injury victims throughout Mississippi.  Our law firm has roots that reach back 75 years so contact us today for your free initial consultation at (662) 834-2376 to see how we can help.