Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Wilkes-Barre, Sugarloaf and Hazleton, Pennsylvania

Anesthesia Errors

Going under anesthesia for surgery can be scary because you are putting your trust and your life into the hands of others. When anesthesia errors occur those fears can turn into reality. The medical malpractice lawyers at The Falvello Law Firm in the Berwick area of Pennsylvania are knowledgeable about anesthesia errors and can help you through the aftermath of such a frightening mistake.

Forms of Anesthesia Used

Anesthesia can take many forms including:

• General the patient is in a controlled state of unconsciousness that may be accompanied by a partial or complete loss of reflexes
• Local the patient experiences a temporary loss of feeling in one part of the body but remains awake
• Spinal the patient has anesthetic injected directly into the spinal cord fluid sac to block pain sensation
• Epidural the patient has an anesthetic injected into the epidural space surrounding the spinal cord fluid sac typically used during childbirth

Anesthesia Errors

• Allergic reactions to anesthesia
• Anesthesia overdoses
• Anesthesia underdoses
• Breathing not resuscitated immediately after patient stops breathing
• Drug interactions
• Food and water interactions
• Inadequate maintenance of blood pressure
• Insufficient oxygen supplied
• Poor intubation (air tube inserted improperly)
• Vital signs not monitored
• Wrong anesthetics used

Some of these anesthesia mistakes can result in:

• Asphyxia (impaired or impeded breathing)
• Anesthesia awareness (patient awake during procedure but unable to communicate)
• Birth injuries such as Erbs palsy and cerebral palsy
• Brain damage
• Coma
• Heart attack
• Loss of bodily function
• Organ failure
• Paralysis
• Spinal cord injury
• Stroke
• Wrongful death

A Note on Anesthesia Awareness

If patients awaken during a surgical procedure, even though they were given anesthesia, it is known as anesthesia awareness. The scary thing about anesthesia awareness is that patients often cant communicate with the surgeon but are still aware of what is happening in their surgery.

People who experience anesthesia awareness report things including the following:

• Feeling helpless
• Feeling the actual pain of surgery
• Feeling unable to breathe
• Hearing what is being said during the operation
• Paralysis and inability to speak while still aware of what is happening

Both extremely emotionally and physically traumatic, these experiences can leave their marks for a long time. They can cause further complications including:

• Anxiety disorder
• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
• Sleeping problems

If you or someone you love has been the victim of an anesthesia error, please email us at The Falvello Law Firm in the Bloomsburg area of Pennsylvania. We want to help you get any compensation to which you are entitled. Our medical malpractice lawyers offer a free initial consultation and we work on a contingency basis so you dont pay anything until we get you a settlement. The Falvello Law Firm serves clients in Hazleton, Sugarloaf, Wilkes-Barre, Berwick, and Bloomsburg, Pennsylvania.