Burned By a Doctor During Surgery?

Unfortunately, medical mistakes and their related injuries remain all too common for today’s everyday patient. One largely preventable mistake some may not think of is a surgical burn. These injuries are likely to occur when a person is under anesthesia for a routine operation or reconstructive surgery and can range from first to fourth degree burn injuries as a result of a medical professional’s negligence or medical equipment or device failure. Burns are most often caused from an electrical, transferred heat, laser or other surgical equipment thermal burn immediately once contact is made with the patient. Patients may wake up from a surgery focused on an internal organ and find they are also being treated for a skin burn to their lower extremity, the most common area for surgical burns. While some burns can be treated in an outpatient center many others may require ongoing therapy and painful reconstructive surgeries.

While these cases might seem simple, an attorney will be needed to help gather answers and provide careful consideration of the facts prior to taking on a surgical burn case. During this investigative stage, an experienced burn injury attorney can determine:

• Who was in the room during the incident? Including all doctors, nurses, technicians, and other medical personnel.
• Establish a timeline for what occurred and if standard procedures were followed by all parties from beginning to end?
• What equipment was in use and specifically what equipment would have been near the patient’s body at the time of the burn?
• Was the equipment in use properly assessed to ensure it was functioning correctly?
• Was the equipment being used according to standard procedures?
• Is it possible that surgical equipment malfunctioned?
• Who was negligent in using the surgical equipment and supplies?

Despite the challenges surgical burn cases can present, if a patient emerged from a procedure with a surgical burn the cause of the injury may easily present itself. But even without specific evidence, negligence may be presumed and liability established with the help of an experienced personal injury attorney.

Doctors and surgical teams are highly trained and skilled in their area of expertise, so therefore they are expected to be knowledgeable under the law which requires them to conform to a standard of care. When they fail to perform this type of care, and the patient is harmed, it may be grounds for a malpractice case.