What Is Wrong-Site Surgery?

Undergoing a surgical procedure invokes many emotions in a patient. Individuals are placed in a vulnerable state and rely on a medical team to provide critical care often while the patient is unable to respond or even knows what is going on. Even the most basic surgery carries an element of risk.

However, waking to find the wrong procedure has been performed or the correct procedure has been conducted, but on the wrong site, is one of the worst fears imaginable, compromising a patient’s health without correcting the initial medical concern. Working with experienced Philadelphia surgical error attorneys allows a patient to focus on their health while qualified professionals handle the legal complexities.

Defining Wrong-Site Surgery

According to a National Library of Medicine publication, any of the following procedural errors are considered wrong-site surgeries:

• Operating on the wrong site or side of the body
• Performing the wrong procedure
• Performing the correct surgery on the wrong patient

This documentation also describes these events as sentinel events. The Joint Commission defines a sentinel event as one that results in temporary severe injury, permanent injury, or death to a patient resulting from medical care. These occurrences often produce devastating experiences for the patient. They may also be called never events or events that should never occur within a particular setting.

Frequency of Wrong Site Surgery

It can be challenging to estimate how often wrong-site surgeries occur. The Joint Commission is an organization dedicated to and recognized for the global promotion of quality improvement and safety in healthcare. However, reporting incidences of wrong-site surgery to this commission is voluntary. The Joint Commission’s estimates suggest these events occur from 0.09 to 4.5 per 10,000 operations in the United States, making it the fourth most preventable complication in healthcare.

In Pennsylvania, sentinel events like wrong-site surgeries must be reported to the Patient Safety Authority (PSA). This group monitors serious harm events and potential harm events involving patients in acute care facilities. The PSA compiles these reports and identifies how often similar events are likely to reoccur. Over five years, the Pennsylvania Patient Safety Reporting System database identified the following incidents of wrong-site surgery:

• 368 wrong-site surgery events occurred
• 178 healthcare facilities experienced a wrong-site event
• An average of 1.42 wrong-site surgeries occurs in Pennsylvania each week
• 76% of wrong-site surgeries result in or contribute to the harm of a patient, whether temporary or long-term

The harm resulting from wrong-site surgery may lead to severe impacts on an individual’s life as well as potentially significant economic burdens.

Causes of Wrong Site Surgery

Medical care facilities suffer impacts from many negative factors, such as overwhelming care needs as well as a shortage of staff. The projections for the future shortage of medical care providers are staggering. Still, safeguards are necessary to protect against these devastating injuries.

According to the book Patient Safety and Quality: An Evidence-Based Handbook for Nurses (chapter 36, Table 1), common causes of wrong-site surgeries include:

• A lack of a formal system within an institution to ensure the correct procedure is performed
• Insufficient patient assessments with improper patient medical reviews and care plans
• The sole reliance on one team member to determine the appropriate surgery site
• Failing to mark or adequately mark the correct site
• Time restraints and pressures
• Poor communication between team members

No matter the cause of a wrong-site surgery, the impact on a patient is no less detrimental to their health.

Liability for Wrong Site Surgery

Multiple parties may be found liable for a wrong-site surgery. Proving medical malpractice is complex and challenging but can be done by an experienced legal team using robust evidence. Determining who is liable is vital to helping a patient recover the compensation they deserve for their damages. Parties who may be held liable for wrong-site surgery damages include:

• The surgeon: A surgeon owes a duty of care to each patient to ensure the correct procedure is performed on the appropriate site.
• Medical team: Nurses, lab technicians, radiologists, anesthesiologists, or any other healthcare professional responsible for a role in a surgical procedure may be held liable for their contribution to these errors.
• Care facility: A hospital or facility is responsible for hiring trained professionals to provide quality patient care. A failure to do so may result in their partial responsibility for a patient’s damages.

A medical malpractice attorney in Philadelphia with experience in surgical errors and wrong-site surgeries will work to establish that a healthcare relationship existed between a patient and provider and that the medical provider breached the established standard of care. Your lawyer must also demonstrate how the negligence caused your injury and that you have damages deserving of compensation.

Compensation for Wrong Site Surgery

Legally addressing wrong-site surgery is a challenging task, often leaving patients emotionally, physically, and financially devastated. Each patient’s experience with a wrong-site surgery produces varying outcomes and damages that are unique to their circumstances. Your medical malpractice attorney will conduct a complete evaluation of the damages based on your individual experience.

Damages may include:

• All medical expenses related to a wrong-site surgery
• The cost of future corrective procedures
• Pain and suffering
• Lost wages, potential income, and bonuses
• Costs for ongoing care and services

This list does not fully cover every type of potential damage or all of the compensation that may be available. Scheduling a free consultation to review your case provides a more adequate picture of the potential value of your medical malpractice claim.

Time Limits for Filing a Wrong Site Surgery Claim

Pennsylvania allows compensation for damages to be pursued two years from the date the accident occurred. However, additional statutes apply for underage patients or individuals who do not immediately discover their injuries. The Commonwealth also requires that the plaintiff file a certificate of merit within 60 days of filing a complaint to verify that the care received likely fell outside of standard care practices.

Let the Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys at Lopez McHugh LLP protect your legal rights if you have experienced a wrong-site surgery. Discussing your case with knowledgeable professionals is free. Because time limits vary and waiting to file can result in the loss of critical evidence proving a case, speak with a medical malpractice attorney in Philadelphia immediately.