Using special medication, general anesthesia puts a patient into an unconscious state and allows them to avoid pain and physical movement. While Illinois anesthesiologists are carefully trained to administer anesthesia and monitor a patient’s heart rate and other vital signs during treatment, even relatively minor surgeries can be dangerous when they involve the use of general anesthesia. Most of the time, general anesthesia is used safely, even for high-risk populations; but when an anesthesiologist acts negligently or carelessly, patients can suffer serious injury and even wrongful death. 

Are Certain Patients at Great Risk of Anesthesia Complications? 

Not every injury and death that occurs during the use of general anesthesia can be attributed to medical malpractice. Certain health conditions, habits, and medical histories can place patients at higher risk of adverse events during anesthesia, including: 

• Obesity

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Most people find the prospect of getting major surgery frightening enough even in the best of circumstances. Between the anesthesia, the complexity of the surgery, and the process of recovery, there is good reason to be apprehensive about the risks involved. One odd but particularly dangerous risk is that of an Illinois surgeon who leaves a foreign object inside of a body during surgery. While most surgeons adhere to the standard of care and this does not often happen, when it does, it can have severe and life-threatening implications for the patient. If you have gotten surgery in Illinois and a negligent surgeon has left a surgical tool, sponge, or other items in your body, you may want to take legal action through a medical malpractice lawsuit. 

What is a Never Event? 

An item left inside a human body during surgery is often referred to as a “never event.” A never event is a mistake that is completely preventable by following proper care protocol and that, therefore, should never happen. Yet one study found that foreign objects are left inside bodies nearly 40 times a week in the U.S. When objects are left inside the body, they must first be detected - nearly always after a patient complains of severe pain and is subject to repeated testing - and the removal itself requires more surgery, along with its inherent risks. Common patient complaints include: 

• Vomiting or coughing up blood

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Hives, rashes, and fevers are common side effects of an allergic reaction to medication, but in the worst cases, such allergic reactions can send patients into potentially fatal anaphylactic shock. During anaphylactic shock, a patient’s airways often constrict, making it difficult or impossible to breathe. Dizziness, low blood pressure, vomiting, seizures, and loss of consciousness can occur. These reactions can cause substantial health problems, leading to large medical bills and prolonged health consequences. 

It is consequently very important for medical professionals to never administer medication to which a patient is allergic. Unfortunately, sometimes healthcare staff behave negligently and make prescription drug errors that can cause serious damage to a patient’s health. The damage this can cause is sometimes sufficient to warrant a lawsuit for medical malpractice.  

When you do not feel well it is common to seek medical attention. With their education and experience, we hold doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals to a higher standard. We believe that they can help to figure out the cause of our ailments. This often requires conducting various medical tests. But what happens when a doctor fails to order the necessary tests? It often results in serious and sometimes even fatal consequences. If you believe that your doctor failed to order you the proper test, you may have a claim for medical malpractice and should contact an attorney to learn more about your options.

A Delayed Diagnosis Can Result in Serious Consequences

When the proper tests are conducted and the results are discovered sooner rather than later, physicians can take the right steps to care for patients’ ailments. But when a doctor fails to order the proper tests, the health of the patient can often worsen, sometimes even making the normal course of treatment much more difficult or even impossible. As a result, the patient often suffers physically, mentally, and financially. Oftentimes, failure to receive the right medical tests can even result in death.

There are times when doctors order the wrong tests, or simply fail to order the right ones. Other times, in an attempt to save money, health facilities make doctors jump through hoops before they are able to order certain tests. This is often due to the fact that insurance companies will not approve of certain tests without others being conducted prior. In such a case both the doctor and the facility may be liable.

According to a recent Gallup poll, approximately 33 million adults in the United States have visited a chiropractor in the last 12 months. Chiropractic treatments seek to relieve joint pain and stiffness through manual manipulation of the spine and other joints. However, chiropractic adjustments have also been associated with adverse consequences including herniated disk, nerve compression, and even stroke. If a chiropractor’s negligence leads to a patient’s injury or death, the chiropractor may be subject to a medical malpractice claim.

Chiropractic Treatments and Vertebral Artery Dissection

The majority of adults will experience mild to moderate back pain at some point in their lives. For many, pain and stiffness in the neck or back becomes unbearable. Some sufferers turn to chiropractors in pursuit of relief. The majority of chiropractic adjustments do not result in serious patient harm. However, chiropractic manipulation of the spine has been linked with serious medical complications, including occlusion or dissection of the vertebral artery which often leads to stroke.

In a study published by the American Heart Association, individuals who suffered vertebrobasilar accidents were five times more likely than the control group to have visited a chiropractor in the week preceding the vertebrobasilar accident. Another study found that stroke victims under the age of 60 who suffered tears in the vertebral artery were six times more likely to have had chiropractic adjustments in the preceding 30 days than stroke victims that did not suffer tears in the vertebral artery.