Surgical Malpractice: Would You Report It?

When was the last time you took a vow that could affect the lives of everyone you encountered? "Primum non nocere" is the oath all doctors take and is Latin for "first, do no harm."

Yet, according to CBS News and the National Practitioner Data Bank, hundreds of medical mistakes go unreported by doctors and medical institutions. Not reporting such vital information directly questions the ethics of doctors and surgeons entrusted to honor a very important vow.

When we step inside a hospital as a patient or with a loved one, we trust the doctors and nurses to uphold their oath - to provide the best, most thorough care possible. We trust that our caregivers are competent and well trained. We trust them with our lives and livelihood.

But even the best-intentioned surgeon can break that trust. That is when surgical malpractice can occur.

What Is Surgical Malpractice? Surgical medical malpractice is the failure of a surgeon to give satisfactory treatment to a patient, leading to surgical mistakes that cause personal injury or an extensive loss of earnings.

 Use of unsanitary surgical utensils
 Incorrect incision
 Organ puncture or perforation
 Surgery on wrong organ, wrong site surgery or wrong side surgery
 Delayed surgery
 Unduly prolonged surgery

Not all errors are, by definition, malpractice. Medical or surgical malpractice occurs specifically when there are violations of standard and customary care within that specialty.

Sadly, statistics also show that patients often do not speak up about neglectful care. Only about two percent of injured people seek compensation for medical malpractice. However, thousands of patients experience surgical impairment each year.

If these cases are unreported by both patients and by hospitals, this allows surgeons and doctors to continue being negligent and harmful without ever being questioned. It also deprives state medical boards (the agencies which license and discipline medical doctors) of essential information to make decisions about what doctors can practice medicine. This chain of events directly affects the number of surgical malpractice incidents.

Performing surgery at any hospital is a privilege. If doctors do not meet the expectations of their profession, this privilege can - and should - be revoked by a medical board.

An estimated 98,000 hospital patients are killed every year, according to the Institute of Medicine. This astounding number is the result of medical malpractice. The statistic also raises serious concerns about the safety standards and quality of care in today's medical profession.

What To Do If You Suspect Surgical Malpractice

 Do not accuse the healthcare provider yourself
 Document all events to the best of your knowledge and ability
 Obtain your medical records if possible
 Contact an experienced surgical malpractice attorney as soon as possible

About the Author

If you live in Baltimore, a medical malpractice attorney can help you if you have a valid legal claim due to medical malpractice; please visit the website of Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer, Tom Yost today.

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