Patients in Joliet who undergo surgery or other medical procedures trust that their doctors will perform operations and procedures with the utmost care and attention. Although a surgery or procedure may be routine, doctors must acknowledge that there are risks. Doctors must also acknowledge that their patients’ medical conditions may make them susceptible to suffering specific health complications during surgery or medical procedures.
When doctors fail to monitor patients’ conditions during operations, and when doctors fail to consider how patients’ medical conditions may be aggravated by procedures or medications, doctors may be putting their patients in danger. Failing to properly monitor patients may lead to serious brain injuries, including blood clots and strokes.
Although these errors may lead to damaging and disabling injuries, doctors continue to make these mistakes during surgeries and medical procedures. Just last month, a lawsuit was filed against an Illinois doctor and a hospital for causing a patient to suffer a stroke during a routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.
The lawsuit was filed on March 8 by a patient who claims that his stroke was caused by medical negligence. The patient was treated at a hospital in March 2011 and received a routine upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. However, during the procedure the patient’s heart rate began to slow from receiving too much medication, and he suffered a stroke. The patient suffered injuries from the stroke, which he believes could have been prevented. He is requesting at least $100,000 in compensation for the doctor’s and hospital’s mistake.
When patients are harmed during surgery, doctors may try to claim that patients’ injuries were caused by their pre-existing conditions instead of medical mistakes. Although some complications cannot be avoided during surgery, mistakes made by doctors and hospitals during medical procedures may aggravate patients’ medical conditions, causing patients to suffer injuries that could have been avoided.
If you or someone you love has suffered a brain injury, stroke, or other injury during a routine procedure, you may want to contact a medical malpractice attorney to learn more about holding doctors accountable for their errors.
Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, “Belleville doctor accused of causing stroke in patient,” Andrea Dearden, April 2, 2013
