What To Do if You Suspect a Surgical Error Occurred

If you or a loved one has undergone a medical procedure and suspect a healthcare provider made a mistake or a surgical error occurred, you should know your legal options.

Adverse events in the healthcare industry can result from undertraining, physician negligence, communication failures, lapsed protocols, or other preventable causes. It may be difficult to grasp that egregious medical errors could happen to you or a loved one or that a South Carolina health care provider with whom you’re comfortable could potentially be responsible for a medical malpractice injury.

But protecting yourself during these situations requires an understanding of common surgical errors and knowing what to do if you suspect a provider’s actions jeopardized your or a loved one’s health or safety.

The Prevalence of Surgical Errors in Healthcare

While many patients don’t assume they would be harmed by a surgical error, these adverse events are not unheard of. The Joint Commission (JC) monitors sentinel events, which is a term for serious medical mistakes resulting in death, severe harm, or permanent damage. In the JC’s 2023 report, wrong-site surgeries, unintended retention of a foreign object, and delay in treatment were among the top six most-reported sentinel events.

1| Understand and Exercise Your Rights

It’s difficult to stand up for yourself after experiencing a surgical error if you don’t understand how to assert your rights as a South Carolina patient. Some disclosure policies that can be instrumental when investigating your case, include:

• Doctor disclosure rules for informing patients about actions that caused injuries
• Patient safety laws requiring hospitals to furnish the identification and professional status of care providers
• Standards for providing all relevant, current, and understandable information regarding your diagnosis and treatment
• Explaining patient options to deny or consent to care
• The hospital’s policies and practices related to patient care

Distinguish an Adverse Event From Typical Medical Risks

To exercise your rights, you must understand the differences between disappointing outcomes, risks of the procedure, and adverse events. When a surgery doesn’t accomplish what you hope or you experience post-op symptoms you were warned about, you may have recourse. But when a surgeon nicks an artery and you experience significant harm or catastrophic injuries, the event may qualify as medical malpractice and afford you the right to explore your legal options.

2| Report Surgical Errors Appropriately

Reporting the surgical error in South Carolina is a vital next step to increase transparency in healthcare and protect yourself and others from negligent care providers. When physician discipline is underreported, it leaves providers who historically fail the standards of care to continue practicing medicine. Improving communication around adverse events can help document systems and protocols that increase awareness of troublesome medical professionals or facilities.

You can report an adverse event to South Carolina’s Board of Medical Examiners online or by phone. The board may then discipline the healthcare provider; some states are developing systems to detect patterns of recurrences with the goal of improving public safety.

3| Seek Medical Care

Your well-being should be your top priority when you suspect a surgical error, and revisiting your current provider or seeking care from a new one is well within your rights. An evaluation can help you determine whether you’re experiencing a complication of the procedure or the consequences of a medical malpractice event.

Visiting a healthcare provider after a possible surgical error can also help document your condition in medical records. You should begin gathering records from pre- and post-op care that may demonstrate signs of medical malpractice, such as an incomplete surgical consent form or inaccurate record-keeping.

4| Contact a Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Reporting a surgical error in South Carolina to the Medical Board or other agencies serves a different purpose than filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. A claim may be necessary to acknowledge your hardships and injuries. An attorney can help you explore your legal options and assist with your case by:

• Investigating events before, during, and after the potential surgical error to look for signs of medical malpractice.
• Advising on whether the surgical error qualifies as medical malpractice
• Offering guidance while the hospital or facility investigates the claim
• Gathering evidence and obtaining expert witnesses to support your claim
• Pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the responsible parties

Who Is Liable for Surgical Errors?

A hospital or surgical center may be liable for surgical errors, when the harm was caused by one of their direct employees, such as a surgeon, nurse, or technician. Contracting doctors and independent specialists can complicate liability and help the healthcare facility distance itself from the negligent act. A thorough investigation is necessary to discover whether communication failures, negligence, or another preventable error caused the harmful event, and which party is ultimately responsible—the facility, the practitioner, or some combination.

Having a lawyer advocating on your behalf in these instances is invaluable. Law firms have resources most people don’t and can gather opinions from consulting medical professionals and field experts to identify the signs of medical malpractice and the faulty party or parties. If a surgical error has changed your life’s story, we want to hear from you. Contact our team at Bell Legal Group today to tell us your story and discuss your legal options.