SEATTLE SURGICAL ERROR & NEGLIGENCE LAWYERS

All surgeries involve some amount of risk. That’s why it’s so important that surgeons, medical staff, and hospitals do their jobs properly and professionally. When they make mistakes, vulnerable patients can suffer serious harm – including permanent disabilities or even fatal injuries. That’s when the Seattle surgical negligence attorneys at Tinker Law Firm, PLLC can help. They have the skills and experience to handle even the most complex cases involving medical mistakes.

Our respected surgical negligence lawyers can evaluate your case and discuss your concerns in a free initial consultation. From Seattle or elsewhere in Washington, including Kitsap County, Bainbridge Island, and the Tri-Cities, simply call us at (206) 752-4366, or use our convenient online form. We’re ready to put our skills and experience to work for you.

Surgical Errors & Negligence In Washington

In Washington, state law requires that acute care hospitals, ambulatory surgical facilities, and certain other medical facilities report adverse health events—meaning medical errors the facilities could and should have avoided. Five categories of adverse events must be reported for surgical events.

Since mandatory adverse event reporting began in mid-2006, Washington hospitals and surgical facilities have reported over 350 surgical adverse events. The reported events include over 200 instances of foreign objects left inside a patient’s body. In over 100 reported cases, surgery was performed on the wrong part of a patient’s body. Other errors included performing the wrong surgical procedure on a patient (36 reported events) and even performing surgery on the wrong patient (4 reported events).

Those numbers make it clear that Washington surgeons, hospitals, and surgical clinics can and do make serious mistakes, ones that may result in serious injury or even death for patients.

When those mistakes reflect treatment that falls below the proper standard of medical care, surgical negligence is the result.

In addition to the grave errors that Washington medical facilities are required to report, other forms of surgical negligence can be more subtle, yet equally dangerous and harmful for patients. Surgical negligence can arise during all stages of the surgical process, whether during pre-operative care and preparation for surgery, during the surgery itself, or during the period of post-operative monitoring and care.

Issues can include improper medication of patients prior to procedures, damaging mistakes during surgery committed by the surgeon or the many nurses and staff in and around the operating room, improper administration of anesthesia before and during the procedure, and improper monitoring to detect or prevent post-operative complications such as internal bleeding or blood clots.

What is Duty of Care in a Medical Negligence Claim?

In tort law for medical negligence, a duty of care is a legal obligation that is imposed on all medical professionals and requires them to meet a standard of reasonable care to their patients. The duty of care is the first element that must be established to proceed with an action of negligence.

If a medical practitioner fails in this duty and the patient is injured because of this failure, there may be a legitimate case to pursue a medical negligence claim against the healthcare provider or hospital that provided treatment.

A competent medical negligence lawyer will be familiar with the laws in your state and take the time to understand your injuries and what caused them. If you agree to work together, the malpractice lawyer will build your case around four common elements:

1. That you were a patient of the medical provider and that they therefore owed you a duty of care.
2. That there was a breach of that duty of care. (The care provided did not meet the accepted standard of care).
3. Your injury was caused by the breach of duty of care. (A direct link will be established).
4. You suffered damages as a result of your injuries, such as medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering significant enough to warrant a medical malpractice suit.

Much evidence will be gathered to prove each of the four elements, and independent medical experts will be consulted to provide evidence of the link between the negligent care received and the resulting injuries.

Types of duties of care owed to patients

There are several types of duties of care owed to patients, including:

• Taking into account a patient’s full medical history
• Taking a patient’s complaints and symptoms seriously
• Making an appropriate diagnosis, ordering tests to confirm a diagnosis, or referring the patient to a specialist for diagnosis
• Providing reasonable treatment and treatment options, including appropriate prescription drugs
• Following up with test results in a timely manner

A failure to meet any of these duties can lead to common medical negligence claims such as failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, prescription drug errors, or failure to discuss treatment options and impact of treatment.

Many medical negligence cases stem from a breach of a duty of care to a patient. If you believe that you were seriously injured and suffered losses as a result of negligent care, we urge you to contact us for a free consultation.

Contact Our Experienced And Respected Seattle Surgical Error & Negligence Lawyers Today

We want to help if you or a loved one has been injured by surgical negligence. We’re ready to use our years of experience representing medical malpractice victims and proven record of results to your advantage.

From Seattle, Pasco, Richland, Kennewick, Bainbridge Island, or elsewhere in Washington, you can reach us to schedule a free consultation about your case by simply calling (206) 752-4366 or by using our online form.

Let a trusted Seattle surgical negligence attorney with Tinker Law Firm, PLLC explain how we can protect you and your family’s rights as victims of surgical negligence. Do not delay; personal injury claims in Washington State have a statute of limitations, which means they must be filed within a certain time from the date of the injury.