Surgery can pose a huge risk for patients in New Jersey and throughout the country, but it is also a risk for surgeons. Surgery can lead to medical malpractice claims if anything goes wrong during the operation. According to Coverys, a medical liability insurance company, surgery is the second most common reason that people file medical malpractice claims.
More on the prevalence of medical malpractice from surgery
Coverys focused on five years of medical malpractice claims that are filed and closed between 2014 and 2018 and found that 25% of the claims were related to surgery. The majority of these claims pertained to a physician’s performance during the surgery. According to the report, all aspects of the surgical process, including properly preparing the body for the operation, can also result in malpractice claims.
Which types of surgeries have the most malpractice claims?
General surgery results in the most medical malpractice claims, followed by orthopedic surgery and neurosurgery. The report asserts that these three procedures made up almost half of all surgery-related claims.
Of all the analyzed claims, 29% of surgery-related injuries were classified as permanently significant. Unfortunately, 9% of these claims resulted in the death of the patient.
Common causes of surgical medical malpractice
Many of the claimants stated that a surgeon’s lack of technical ability was the reason. Poor judgment and lack of communication were some of the other complaints. There are of course other issues, such as instruments being left behind in a patient’s body after the procedure as well as cases where the wrong body part was operated on. If you have been harmed after undergoing a surgical procedure, you might find it advisable to discuss your situation with an experienced attorney.
