How Does Medical Malpractice Happen in DC Area Hospitals?
Safe surgery checklists - reminders to all doctors and nurses in the operating room before and during a surgical procedure - are intended to reduce and prevent mistakes during surgery, including serious surgical and anesthesia complications and death. When safe surgery checklists are not used, catastrophic injuries can occur in DC area hospitals. We've all heard horror stories of the wrong leg being amputated, the wrong lung being removed. Safe surgery checklists are an essential part of any successful procedure.
There are three critical time periods that have been identified around the time of surgery:
Right before anesthesia is administered
Right before the incision
During the incision closure
Safe Surgery Checklists can include several safety steps that are easy for doctors and nurses to implement, such as:
Confirming the patient's identity
Marking the surgical site
Checking anesthesia machines and medications
Confirming the surgical procedure and incision site
Counting all of the surgical instruments and sponges
These are just the basics for safe surgery. Many health care organizations have published their own recommended safe surgery checklists.
What Happens When A Doctor Operates On The Wrong Surgical Site In A DC Area Hospital
How could a surgical mistake like operating at the wrong surgical site ever happen? It has happened to people we've represented, and and we have seen cases where doctors were in a rush and didn't stop to thoroughly review a safe surgery checklist, or didn't take an appropriate surgical "time out" to make sure they were performing the right operation on the right person and the right body part.
To get answers to your questions about surgical and medical mistakes in a hospital in D.C., Maryland or Virginia, call us at (202) 393 - 3320 for more information on holding healthcare providers accountable for harms they cause to patients when they don't follow established safety rules.
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