Chicago Surgical Error Lawyer
Surgical errors occur when the surgical team fails in their legal duty to provide a reasonable standard of medical care to a patient. This could include operating on the wrong part of the body, leaving instruments inside the patient’s body, making errors in giving medications, or causing an infection by failing to properly maintain cleanliness. If you have been harmed by a surgical error, our surgical malpractice attorney can help you secure compensation.
When you undergo a surgical procedure, you expect that your health care providers will take care of you. You’re placing yourself in a vulnerable position — relying on your surgical team to keep you safe.
Unfortunately, some people wake up from surgery to find that their medical provider has made a mistake. Others don’t realize it until much later, when they begin to connect their symptoms to a surgical error. Surgical malpractice can have a significant, and sometimes permanent or fatal, impact on your life. Victims of surgical errors and their families deserve justice in the wake of this type of medical malpractice.
The Chicago surgical malpractice lawyers at Levin & Perconti have recovered compensation for victims of surgical errors, allowing them to reclaim parts of their lives that were stolen by the negligence of the people they trusted.
Why Should You Choose Levin & Perconti to Handle Your Surgical Error Case?
Our Chicago surgical error attorneys bring over 400 years of combined experience advocating for victims of medical negligence. With a proven track record of success, we’ve secured more than $2 billion in compensation for our clients, including numerous record-setting and high-profile settlements and verdicts.
Levin & Perconti holds the distinction of obtaining more settlements exceeding $500,000 than any other law firm in Illinois. Many of our attorneys have received state and national accolades, including recognition as Best Lawyers in America, Super Lawyers, and Illinois Top 100—a testament to their exceptional skill and commitment.
Our senior partner and founder, Steven Levin, is a nationally recognized attorney and thought leader in medical malpractice law. He has appeared on major network television programs and testified before Congress on issues related to patient safety and medical negligence.
Our medical malpractice lawyers have won record verdicts in medical negligence claims, such as the following:
- $4 million verdict: medical negligence settlement for the surviving family of a young Chicago woman who died after suffering a serious brain injury while under the care of the hospital. Doctors failed to perform surgery to treat her medical condition in a timely manner, and she suffered a brain stem herniation which led to irreversible brain damage.
- $3 million settlement: medical malpractice settlement for an 84-year-old woman who was permanently paralyzed when a Chicago neurosurgeon caused irreparable damage to her spinal cord during a procedure.
- $975K settlement: settlement for a 58-year-old female who suffered permanent ulnar nerve damage due to defendant hospital’s staff’s failure to properly position, pad, and monitor the condition of her dominant right upper extremity during a prolonged surgical procedure under general anesthesia.
Testimonials
Not only were they so professional but also so caring and thoughtful. It was very difficult going over the facts in our mother's case but they were so compassionate and understanding and allowed us to be with them every step of the way. We were able to sit in on the depositions and we were really able to see how hard they worked on our behalf.
During that time, my family and I suffered the loss of my mother. Mr. Levin and Mr. Perconti were more than just our lawyers. Words can’t really express our gratitude.
They were most patient and responded timely to many questions throughout the entire process. All demonstrated professionalism and extensive knowledge of case and state laws. Their in-depth investigative work uncovered details which were unknown to us and yet sadly confirmed our suspicions. We would recommend the Levin and Perconti Law firm and especially this team.
During that time, my family and I suffered the loss of my mother. Mr. Levin and Mr. Peconti were more than just our lawyers. Words can’t really express our gratitude. My family and I will always be grateful for the compassion that they showed us. I want to thank you for what you did for my family, and for always being there for us.
Margaret’s representation, guidance, and professionalism gave us the sense that we could put our trust in Levin & Perconti and the final outcome proved that to be true.
What is Considered a Surgical Error?
Any surgical procedure carries some degree of risk, however, medical professionals, including surgeons, have a legal duty to provide a reasonable standard of care to their patients. This means that they must be reasonably careful, according to current medical standards, to protect their patients from unnecessary harm.
A surgical error occurs when the surgical team fails to provide reasonable care to its patients. In some cases, this is a result of a careless, harmful action taken. In other cases, a surgical error may be due to inaction — the medical team’s failure to take reasonable actions to keep the patient safe.
In either case, a surgical error is a form of medical malpractice, and surgeons, along with other medical professionals, can be held legally liable for the harm they cause if they fail in their duty of care.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality classifies certain events, such as wrong-site surgery, as “never events,” meaning they should never happen. Health care facilities should ensure they take precautions to avoid these events.
A 2022 study published in StatPearls indicated that “[a]pproximately 400,000 hospitalized patients experience some type of preventable harm each year.” The study authors also noted that roughly 100,000 people die as a result of medical errors in health care facilities each year and that “most malpractice claims in hospitals are related to surgical errors.”
While these errors should never occur, they do, and they have serious consequences for patients.
What Types of Surgical Errors Does Levin & Perconti Handle?
Wrong-Site Surgery
Many people have heard of cases where a surgeon operates on the wrong side of the body. Unfortunately, this does happen.
Because the potential for these errors is obvious, surgical teams generally have procedures in place to prevent them. This often involves a “surgical pause,” where the team stops before making any incisions and ensures they know which patient is in front of them, along with which specific procedure is planned and on which part of the body. This pause is a standard operating room procedure.
Wrong-site surgery is not as rare as you might think. In fact, researchers have estimated that it occurs 40 times every week in hospitals and clinics in the United States.
Another type of surgical error occurs when objects are left inside the patient’s body after surgery. The object left behind could be a surgical instrument such as a clamp or a retractor, or a surgical sponge.
Leaving an object in the patient’s body can lead to a severe infection or damage to organs resulting from the instrument. Sometimes patients realize that the object is there immediately because they can feel it. In other cases, it takes a long time to figure out what happened.
Surgical teams are supposed to use proper procedures to ensure nothing is left inside the patient. This includes making meticulous counts of everything used during the surgery and counting again before closing the incisions at the end of the procedure.
If surgical teams are not careful, they may miscount, resulting in an object being left in the body. Research published in the peer-reviewed journal Patient Safety in Surgery estimates that a retained foreign object occurs about once per 5,500 surgeries and can result in death or permanent harm.
Surgery involves the administration of many medications. Medications may be needed before, during, and after the procedure. A medication error can occur when health care professionals give the wrong medication or the wrong dose of a medication. Medication errors can be fatal, particularly with medications used for anesthesia.
Similarly, when a line intended to provide the patient with oxygen or another gas administers the wrong type of gas or a toxic substance — or fails to provide gas at all — the person responsible for checking the canister has made a medication error.
All surgical procedures carry some risk of infection. However, because this is one of the primary known risks of surgery, surgical teams should do all they can to minimize the risk. In an operating room, it’s crucial for every person to be meticulous about maintaining a sterile environment at all times.
If members of the medical team fail to follow the appropriate procedure, a serious infection could result. This could occur if surgical instruments are not cleaned properly or if a member of the team fails to follow the proper procedures for cleaning their hands and donning protective equipment.
Infections can lead to prolonged hospital stays, may require additional medical or surgical procedures, and can lead to permanent health problems or even death.
Many patients assume that an operating table is a flat surface, so they’d never imagine falling from it. However, operating tables are actually much more dynamic. They can be raised, lowered, folded, and tilted, and parts of the table can be folded down. If the operating team is not careful during movements of the operating table, the patient could fall off, which could cause serious injury. These cases are extremely unfortunate because they’re so easily prevented.
Surgical teams should take precautions to ensure patient safety, such as using posts to support the operating table and using straps to secure the patient to the table to prevent them from falling.
What should I do if I’ve experienced surgical malpractice?
A surgical error can be very costly. Medical bills can add up quickly, and a patient’s ability to work can be affected, sometimes permanently. Family members may need to take time off work to care for the patient. In addition, patients may experience a reduced quality of life.
Call a reputable medical malpractice lawyer to discuss your legal options. You may choose to bring a medical malpractice lawsuit against the surgeon who harmed you or, in the case of a wrongful death, your loved one.
If your surgical error attorney wins your case or negotiates a just settlement, your compensation will provide you with the financial resources to pay your current and future medical bills, as well as other related expenses.
Here in Illinois, your legal team is able to seek compensation for the full extent of your injuries, including the non-economic losses that you have suffered.
Contact a Surgical Malpractice Attorney for a Free Case Review
The accomplished and compassionate attorneys at Levin & Perconti have years of experience and success in handling medical malpractice cases. We’ve won more than $2 billion in compensation for clients who were injured by a preventable surgical error.
If you have been the victim of a surgical error, you may be dealing with lifelong health effects caused by the error. If you’ve lost a loved one because a careless medical provider made a surgical error, you deserve full restitution for your losses, and we at Levin & Perconti will accept nothing less.
If you’ve been injured as a result of a surgical error, please contact our office for a free consultation. We know the financial implications of a serious medical event, so we don’t take payment in advance. We get paid only if you win your case.
If you’re looking for a Chicago surgical error lawyer, our attorneys are ready to fight for you.
Legally Reviewed by
Michael F. Bonamarte, IV
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Related Pages
- Anesthesiologist Error
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- Healthcare Provider Errors
- Hospital Staph Infection Lawsuit
- Lack of Informed Consent
- Medication & Pharmaceutical Error
- Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnosis
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Notable Results
SETTLEMENT
child who suffered a catastrophic hypoxic-ischemic brain injury as a result of a negligent neonatal resuscitation and intubation
SETTLEMENT
for a former police officer who suffered a life-altering brain injury due to nursing staff negligence at a Chicago hospital
VERDICT
on behalf of a family whose mother died of lung cancer in 2015 as a result of a failure to diagnose
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