An anesthesia death lawsuit may be an option for the families of patients who died as a result of negligence during a medical procedure. When the anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist are negligent and make a mistake during a medical procedure, the patient can experience severe pain, and may be left with post-traumatic stress disorder, brain damage or other devastating injuries, including death. Affected families may be able to pursue claims for compensation with the help of a medical malpractice attorney.
For more information, contact Attorney Group. We offer free, confidential, no obligation consultations. We can help answer your questions, and if you choose to pursue a case we can connect you with an affiliated lawsuit attorney who can assist you throughout the legal process.
What is Anesthesia?
According to webmd.com, anesthesia is a way to control pain during a surgery or procedure by using medicine called anesthetics. It can help control a patient’s breathing, blood pressure, blood flow, and heart rate and rhythm. Anesthesia may be used to:
- Relax the patient
- Block pain
- Make a patient sleepy or forgetful
- Make a patient unconscious for surgery
Other medicines may be used along with anesthesia, such as ones to help a patient relax or to reverse the effects of anesthesia.
Types of Anesthesia
Local anesthesia numbs a small part of the body for minor procedures. For example, you may get a shot of medicine directly into the surgical area to block pain. You may stay awake during the procedure.
Regional anesthesia blocks pain to a larger part of your body. You may also get medicine to help you relax or sleep.
Anesthesia Risks
In the 1940s, for every one million patients operated on under full anesthesia, 640 died. By the end of the 1980s, fatalities were down to four per every million. However, according to time.com, a study suggests that after decades of decline, the worldwide death rate during full anesthesia is back on the rise, to about seven patients in every million. And the number of deaths within a year after a general anesthesia is extremely high: one in 20. In the over-65 age group, it’s one in 10.
According to a 2009 study in the medical journal Anesthesiology, there were more than 2,200 anesthesia deaths between 1999 and 2005. Anesthesia was found to be the underlying cause in about 34 deaths every year in the United States and a contributing factor in about 281 other deaths. A little over 46% of the deaths are caused by anesthesia overdose, with the other deaths attributed to different anesthesia complications.
The most common types of anesthesia mistakes may include:
- Improper dosage: Either too little or too much anesthesia can cause injury
- Anesthesia monitoring errors
- Lack of patient monitoring in the post-anesthesia care unit
- Failure to properly intubate
- Administering the wrong drug
- Faulty equipment
The effects of anesthesia mistakes on a patient may include:
- Heart attack
- Collapsed lung
- Brain injury
- Stroke
- Ulnar neuropathy
- Death
How an Anesthesia Death Lawsuit Can Help
Patients who have been injured due to the fault of an anesthesiologist may be entitled to compensation. Damages may include:
- Medical Expenses
- Lost Wages
- Pain and Suffering
The families of those who have died may be eligible to recover money for funeral expenses and the pain that comes with losing a loved one.
For more information, contact Attorney Group. After you contact us, an attorney will follow up to answer questions that you might have. There is no cost or obligation to speak with us, and any information you provide will be kept confidential.
Please note that the law limits the time you have to pursue a claim or file a lawsuit for an injury. If you think you have a case, you should not delay taking action.
