Whether a Chicago doctor has performed a surgical operation only a few times or several dozens of times, every operation should be performed with extreme care.
Hospitals and medical professionals are responsible for making sure that patients and staff are properly prepped for surgery. Doctors and nurses have an obligation to pay close attention to patients and their conditions during surgery in order to avoid a surgical error. And medical facilities and staff also have a duty to monitor patients and their health after surgery in order to make sure patients receive any additional care they may need in the event that a patient does suffer complications from an operation.
As you may already understand, any number of things could go wrong before, during or after surgery. A heart surgery patient recently filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against his doctor after his operation went terribly wrong. According to the lawsuit, the doctor made a mistake during the operation, and to make matters worse, the patient was not properly monitored after the surgery, which allowed his condition to worsen. The patient is now forced to use a pacemaker for the rest of his life as a result of the injuries he suffered from the surgical mistake.
The patient had suffered from heart problems, but he claims that his doctor performed an operation that was not necessary for treating his condition. According to the lawsuit, which was filed last month, the doctor had performed an operation that involved burning cells to fix heart rhythm irregularities. When the doctor performed the operation on the patient, the patient’s arteries became blocked because the operation had been performed too close to the patient’s heart tissue.
After performing the wrong surgery, the doctor also failed to follow-up with his patient’s progress by performing medical tests. Because the man’s arteries were blocked after the operation, the patient suffered serious heart damage. He must now rely on a pacemaker.
Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, “Med mal complaint alleges cardiologist performed incorrect procedure,” Kelly Holleran, Sept. 18, 2012
- Our firm represents patients and their families who have been harmed by medical negligence matters that stem from events such as those described in this post. To learn more about our firm and practice, please visit our Chicago surgical errors attorneys page.
