Surgical Error Attorneys Serving Denver and All of Colorado
According to the National Institutes of Health, over 4,000 errors are made annually during surgery. Often referred to as “never events” (because they are preventable and should never happen), surgical errors injure and kill thousands of men, women, and children in the United States every year. The Denver surgical error lawyers at Burg Simpson find this fact unacceptable. If you have been injured or a loved one has been killed through surgical error, we are here to listen to your story and help you determine how to pursue the justice you deserve.
Contact a Denver Surgical Errors Attorney for FREE
Have you or someone you love suffered from a surgical error? Call Burg Simpson at 303-792-5595 to schedule a complimentary and confidential consultation with one of our experienced Denver surgical error lawyers. We serve victims of negligent surgeons, including those employed by large and powerful healthcare entities in all parts of Colorado.
What Are Surgical Errors?
A form of medical malpractice, surgical errors are preventable mistakes made before, during, or after an operation. While certain complications are considered inherent risks, surgical errors are distinguished by the presence of negligence. These errors only occur when a healthcare professional deviates from the standard of care expected in their field. Tragically, when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, the consequences are often life-altering.
Injuries Caused by Surgical Error
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, medical errors result in:
- Death: 6.6 percent of the time
- Permanent Injury: 32.9 percent of the time
- Temporary Injury: 59.2 percent of the time
Some of the serious and life-threatening injuries related to surgical error are:
- Infections and sepsis
- Excessive bleeding and hematomas
- Organ damage
- Nerve damage
- Burns
- Scarring and disfigurement
- Stroke
- Respiratory damage
- Paralysis
- Brain injury
It can take years of medical intervention, work interruptions, and pain and suffering to overcome many of these injuries. Others will continue to create both financial and personal hardships for life. When these injuries could have been prevented, immediate and long-term costs should not fall to you. Having a Denver surgical error lawyer on your side helps to ensure that all of these damages are considered and maximum compensation can be sought.
How Long Do I Have to File a Surgical Error Claim in Colorado?
You have two years from the date of your injury to file a surgical error claim in Colorado. If you fail to file your claim within the required time frame, you risk losing your right to pursue compensation.
There are a few exceptions to the statute of limitations on surgical error claims in Colorado, but it is still best to talk to an attorney as soon as possible after you have discovered your injury. The faster you engage a surgical error lawyer, the sooner they can fight for the compensation you deserve.
Common Surgical Errors
Most adverse hospital events take place during surgery. These include:
Retained Foreign Objects
When a surgeon or medical professional leaves behind foreign bodies, also called retained surgical items, the patient is at increased risk for infection, illness, organ damage, and even death. Although medical professionals usually take great pains to eliminate the risk of retained foreign bodies, these safety measures can easily go overlooked, especially during emergencies.
The items most often left behind in patients include:
- Sponges and towels, otherwise known as soft goods
- Smaller surgical items, such as broken instrument parts, stapler components, guidewires, and catheters
- Surgical instruments
The failure to remove a surgical object after surgery is a serious event. The patient will almost always be forced to undergo another surgery to remove the retained foreign body, which comes with its own set of potential complications.
Wrong-Site, Wrong-Procedure, or Wrong-Patient Surgery
Any operation can become a wrong-site surgery. For some, these errors can be deadly. Even those who survive wrong-site surgery can be condemned to suffer a lifetime of poor health or disability. Those who do not suffer significant physical harm still have to carry around the psychological impact for the rest of their lives.
Wrong-site surgery may include:
- Surgery on the wrong vertebral level of the spine
- Wrong organ removed
- Wrong limb amputated
- Surgery on the wrong side of the body
- Surgery on the wrong level or area (such as surgery on the correct hand, but the wrong finger)
- Surgery on the wrong patient
While certain circumstances, such as emergency procedures that create time pressures or patients with unusual physical characteristics, can contribute to the risk of wrong-site surgery, surgical errors are always preventable when the standard of care is upheld.
Anesthesia Errors
When an anesthesia error occurs, patients may experience severe complications such as oxygen deprivation, brain damage, heart failure, or death. Common anesthesia errors include:
- Administering too much or too little anesthetic
- Not properly tracking a patient’s heart rate, blood pressure, or oxygen levels
- Overlooking a patient’s medical history or current medications
- Improperly inserting or securing an airway tube
Anesthesia errors often result in prolonged hospital stays, additional procedures, and permanent injuries. In many cases, patients will require extensive rehabilitation and ongoing medical treatment to address these issues.
Organ Damage
Surgeons and operating staff are trained to exercise extreme care around sensitive organs, blood vessels, and other critical structures. Common ways organ damage can occur during surgery include:
- Inadvertent cutting or puncturing with surgical instruments
- “Blind cuts” allowed through improper utilization of imaging and operating scopes
- Nicked blood vessels or organs that lead to internal bleeding
Organ damage may require additional surgeries, specialized medical interventions, and, in some cases, long-term follow-up care. Many patients face functional limitations, ongoing pain, and permanent disabilities.
Nerve and Spinal Cord Damage
Although rare, some of the most tragic examples of medical malpractice involve patients who are paralyzed as a result of preventable surgical spinal cord injury.
Spinal cord injuries fall into two main categories:
- Complete (Total) Spinal Cord Injuries: No functioning below the level of injury; or
- Incomplete (Partial) Spinal Cord Injuries: Some feeling and/or movement below the injury, but impaired.
Victims of spinal cord injuries can experience a wide range of health issues beyond a loss of mobility, including:
- Quadriplegia
- Paraplegia
- Loss of muscle control
- Loss of bladder/bowel control
- Muscle spasms
- Infections
- Sexual dysfunction
- Ventilator dependence
- Dependence on tube feeding
- Depression/anxiety
Spinal cord injury can decrease life expectancy, strain work, social, and family life, and cause untold amounts of pain and suffering. When these are a result of surgical error, fair compensation must account for all of these things.
Leading Causes of Surgical Error
Some of the most common causes of surgical error are:
- Sloppy pre-surgery planning
- Incomplete patient assessment
- Failure to observe “time out” before surgery
- X-rays read backwards
- Inadequate site marking procedures
- More than one surgeon involved in a procedure
- More than one procedure or surgical site involved in one surgical session
- Poor communication between surgical team members
- Time pressures
- Failure to communicate with the patient or patient’s family before surgery
Determining the cause of your injury is an essential part of building a case for compensation. During your FREE case review with one of our Denver surgical error lawyers, we can discuss our investigative methods to help you understand how we work to identify all liable parties.
Preventing Surgical Error
Proper policies and procedures can significantly reduce risks. Most hospitals and surgical centers include safety protocols to prevent these horrific accidents, such as:
- Time Outs: When the staff pauses to confirm medical orders and records.
- Inventory: When the staff takes stock of supplies and instruments used to ensure everything is accounted for.
- Indelible Ink: Staff are starting to use this to mark the site of the surgery.
Even with these protocols, surgical errors occur in Denver with alarming frequency. When you or someone you love is the victim, engaging a qualified attorney helps to protect your options, preserve your rights, and seek the full compensation you are due.
Who Can Be Held Liable for Surgical Errors?
The surgeon performing the procedure is often the focus of Denver surgical error claims, but any member of the surgical team can be held liable if they fail to meet the standard of care. Under Colorado negligence law, to file a surgical error claim, the patient must first prove the following:
- An injury has occurred
- The defendant was negligent
- This negligence led to the plaintiff’s losses
While some surgical error claims involve only one party, others have multiple defendants, with potentially liable parties including:
- Surgeons. The individual performing the operation bears significant responsibility for adhering to safe surgical practices, including proper preoperative planning and precise techniques.
- Anesthesiologists and Nurse Anesthetists. Anesthesia providers can be held accountable for errors such as administering incorrect dosages, failing to monitor, or ignoring allergies.
- Surgical Nurses and Operating Room Staff. Team members who prepare instruments, position patients, and assist the surgeon also owe a duty of care. Mistakes in communication, equipment handling, or record-keeping can contribute to surgical errors.
- Hospitals or Surgical Centers. Facilities may face liability for inadequate staffing, insufficient training, or failing to enforce safety protocols. In some cases, they can be vicariously liable for the actions of their employees.
- Equipment Manufacturers. If a surgery-related injury stems from a defective medical device or robotic surgical instruments, the manufacturer may share liability.
The Denver surgical error lawyers at Burg Simpson work with expert witnesses to pour over medical records and establish whether each party’s conduct fell below the standard of care. By comparing what happened against protocols that qualified providers and facilities typically follow, these experts can help pinpoint exactly where negligence occurred and which parties should be held accountable.
Surgical Error Injury Damages
Damages for surgical errors are typically separated into two categories:
- Economic: Additional surgeries, time off work, and anything else with a provable cost.
- Non-Economic: Physical pain, emotional distress, and similarly intangible damages.
Economic damages are sought dollar-for-dollar. This includes both your current expenses and projected economic losses due to continued time away from work or prolonged medical treatments.
Non-economic damages are more complex to determine. Our Denver surgical error lawyers take the time necessary to understand how an injury has and will continue to impact your health, happiness, and prospects, and fight for damages that reflect your experiences.
Will My Denver Surgical Error Damages be Capped?
There is a cap on non-economic damages in all medical malpractice cases in Colorado, including surgical errors. Currently, the non-economic damage cap in Colorado is $300,000. However, with the passage of HB24-1472, this amount is to be incrementally increased to $875,000 over the next five years. Thereafter, the Colorado non-economic medical malpractice damage cap will be adjusted every two years for inflation.
There is no cap on economic damages in medical malpractice claims in Colorado. These damages should be a direct reflection of your financial expenses and losses.
How Do I File a Surgical Error Claim in Denver?
The process for filing a surgical error claim in Denver is incredibly complex. It is best to work with an experienced surgical error attorney who can handle the details of your claim while you focus on recovery. The Denver surgical error lawyers at Burg Simpson work on a contingency fee basis, meaning we only get paid after we have secured a settlement or verdict in your favor.
The surgical error claims process can vary based on the details of the case, but typically includes:
Gathering and Reviewing Medical Records
A careful review of your medical records—including surgical reports, physician’s notes, and diagnostic images—will help determine if your injury was caused by a medical professional. This process may include working with qualified physicians and medical specialists who can assess the actions taken by your medical and operating teams.
Determining the Extent of Damages
The scope of your losses is not always immediately obvious. They must take into account additional medical expenses, diminished income capacity, and any other financial, physical, or emotional impacts you have suffered.
Pursuing Settlement Negotiations or Litigation
A majority of surgical error claims are settled during negotiations before a trial is necessary. However, if the responsible parties fail to offer fair compensation, it may be necessary to take your case to court. Having a lawyer who is experienced in both negotiations and trial settings is ideal.
Why Choose Burg Simpson for Your Surgical Error Claim?
Burg Simpson is a nationally recognized law firm with more than four decades of service to individuals and families injured by negligent medical professionals. Thorough and thoughtful, our Denver surgical error lawyers will place your needs first, handling all aspects of your claim while you recover. We have secured more than $2 billion in settlements and verdicts for victims of serious injury and are prepared to fight tirelessly as we pursue every penny you are due.
Talk to an Experienced Denver Surgical Error Lawyer for FREE
To schedule your FREE consultation with one of our Denver surgical error lawyers, contact Burg Simpson online or call us at 303-792-5595. We serve clients along the Front Range and throughout Colorado.
