Anesthesia Malpractice

Cases in which anesthesia malpractice exist are often one of the worst situations you could find yourself in. Imagine getting ready for an important surgery, and after the anesthesiologist administers their dosage of gas or medicine, you remain awake yet unable to move. Surgery continues on while you remain stuck in a state of panic hearing everything going on around you. Cases like these are rare, yet happen to thousands of unsuspecting patients each year. The experience may include severe pain, brain damage, and other devastating neurological effects on the victim after everything has happened. Anesthesia awareness, and wrongful deaths associated with it, are almost always entirely preventable. Allow one of our experienced Tampa anesthesia attorneys to investigate your case, and initiate a lawsuit for damages suffered if applicable.

Before most surgeries involving general anesthetic, individuals are given a drug that paralyzes their entire body to keep them motionless during surgery. As a result, when the anesthesia is not working they can do nothing to alert the doctors. This condition is known as anesthesia awareness, and is used to describe the situation when a patient is awake during surgery, experiencing pain, yet completely unable to communicate that they are aware of what’s happening to them. It’s estimated that over 20,000 people every year experience some form of anesthesia awareness. Effects can range from complete consciousness during surgery, to only having vague recollections of pain afterwards. Many victims of anesthesia malpractice mistake the experience for post-traumatic stress disorder. This psychological condition can have long term effects that may never be resolved. Nightmares and paranoia are common side effects found in people suffering from post-traumatic stress as the result of their surgery gone wrong.

The problems related with anesthesia are commonly mistakes performed by the anesthesiologist or nurse. Some common causes include improper drug dosage, insufficient training by the nurse or doctor, lack of monitoring, and machine misuse or malfunction. All of these causes fall under anesthesia malpractice on the part of the nurses and anesthesiologist responsible for the patient. If you or a loved one has suffered pain or damage due to medical malpractice involving anesthesia, speak with a Tampa anesthesia attorney today at Catania & Catania. Our lawyers have over two decades of experience investigating and winning malpractice lawsuits on behalf of our clients. We’ll work with you to obtain verdicts in your favor, and prove negligence on behalf of the anesthesiologist. Call 1-800-253-5523 for a free consultation with one of our Tampa lawyers today.