When you undergo surgery, you place considerable trust in the hands of the doctors and medical professionals. However, when a doctor makes an error that violates the established standard of care and leads to additional injury, you have the right to pursue compensation to hold them accountable for their actions.
The aftermath of a surgical mistake can often leave you and your family with considerable financial, emotional, and physical challenges. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you explore whether your injury classifies as malpractice and build a strong case to pursue compensation.
The McCallister Law Firm, located in Kansas City, Missouri, is skilled in handling medical malpractice cases, including surgical errors, and is dedicated to helping you pursue justice and accountability. Reach out today to schedule a free consultation.
Establishing Professional Duty of Care
If you are considering filing a claim for surgical malpractice, you will need to first establish a formal doctor-patient relationship. This relationship creates a legal obligation known as a duty of care. It means the surgeon and the surgical staff were responsible for providing treatment that meets the accepted medical standards for the surgery being performed.
Establishing a professional duty of care helps demonstrate that the provider had a specific responsibility to you during the operation. To establish this duty, you will need to identify the following components:
The doctor-patient relationship: You must provide documentation showing you were under the surgeon's care for a specific procedure.
The scope of the surgery: You must provide clear evidence of what the surgery was intended to accomplish and which body parts were involved.
The surgical environment: You must identify all parties in the room, including anesthesiologists and nurses, who held a specific duty toward your safety.
Pre-operative obligations: You must establish that your medical providers reviewed your medical history and allergies before the first incision was made.
Once you establish a duty of care, you can move forward with filing your malpractice claim. The Missouri medical malpractice attorney at McCallister Law Firm can help you meticulously review your hospital records and admission papers to confirm a duty of care and identify the medical professionals who were responsible for your safety.
How to Prove a Breach of the Medical Standard of Care
In any surgical error case, you will need to prove that the surgeon breached their "standard of care." This doesn't mean that your doctor made a simple mistake or that the surgery did not have a perfect outcome.
Instead, it requires you to show that the surgeon’s actions fell below what a reasonably competent doctor in the same field would've done under similar circumstances. This often involves uncovering "never events"—errors that are so egregious they should never happen, such as operating on the wrong limb or leaving a sponge inside a patient.
To prove a breach of the standard of care, you and your attorney will need to compare the surgeon’s choices against the peer-accepted protocols of the medical field. This is often achieved by highlighting specific deviations from safety checklists:
Wrong-site surgery: Providing evidence that the surgery was performed on the incorrect side of the body or the wrong organ.
Instrument retention: Proving that surgical tools or supplies were left inside the body cavity post-closure.
Anesthesia errors: Showing that the patient was given the wrong dosage or wasn't properly monitored during sedation.
An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help review surgical logs and witness statements to identify moments where the standard of care was missed or ignored. These breaches can often provide the necessary proof to support your claim of medical malpractice.
The Importance of Demonstrating a Direct Causal Link to Your Injuries
In malpractice cases, it isn't enough to show that a surgeon made a mistake. Instead, you must prove that the mistake was the direct cause of your injuries. This is often where the defense tries to muddy the water by claiming your health problems were pre-existing or were a known complication of the surgery that could've occurred regardless of the error.
Therefore, you will need to provide evidence that links the surgeon’s breach of duty to the physical harm you’ve suffered. The following types of evidence can be pivotal to proving whether the surgeon’s negligence caused your harm:
Pathology and imaging reports: Using X-rays or MRIs to show the physical damage caused during the operation.
Temporal relationship: Showing that the symptoms or injuries appeared immediately following the surgical error.
Exclusion of other factors: Systematically proving that the injury couldn't have been caused by your prior health history or natural surgical risks.
Without a direct link between the surgical error and your injuries, even the most obvious mistake might not result in compensation. The Missouri personal injury attorney at The McCallister Law Firm can help you examine the evidence and tie it directly to your injury.
Contact a Skilled Medical Malpractice Attorney in Missouri Today
If you have suffered an injury during a surgery because a medical professional failed to meet the established standard of care, you have the right to file a medical malpractice claim to hold them accountable. However, pursuing compensation isn't easy, and you will need to provide considerable evidence to support your claim.
The McCallister Law Firm is experienced in handling medical malpractice claims, and Attorney Brian F. McCallister is dedicated to helping you seek answers and pursue the compensation you need. Located in Kansas City, Missouri, the firm serves clients throughout the greater Kansas City area. Reach out today to schedule a free consultation.
