According to the American College of Surgeons, wrong-site surgeries should be “never events,” which means they should not ever occur — and yet they still happen every year in the United States. These tragic incidents are most common when doctors are performing orthopedic surgery, neurosurgery, and urological surgeries, but can occur across all practice areas.
If you or someone you love experiences a wrong-site surgery, you need to get legal help immediately. These cases are typically viewed as clear examples of medical negligence, and you may be entitled to significant compensation for your economic and non-financial losses.
Gill Ports Hoste LLC is here and ready to help you in these difficult circumstances. We have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for victims of medical negligence both in and out of court, and we won’t stop fighting for our patients to get justice. Give us a call today to schedule your free consultation with a Chicago wrong-site surgery lawyer to learn more.
Consequences of wrong-site surgeries
A wrong-site surgery can cause you damage in multiple ways. Not only do you undergo the trauma of having a healthy body part operated on, but you also experience a delay in the treatment of the original condition that necessitated surgery.
The American College of Surgeons identified the most common consequences of wrong-site surgeries, which include:
- A need for additional surgery
- Pain
- Mobility dysfunction
- Your medical condition/injury becoming worse
- Total loss of function
- Scarring
- Death
All of these consequences can be life-changing and can cause substantial economic loss as well as result in pain and suffering and emotional distress. You should be compensated for all these damages that you have endured.
Holding doctors and care providers accountable for wrong-site surgery
Because a wrong-site surgery is a never-event, it is also an example of a situation where a legal doctrine called res ipsa loquitur often applies. Res ipsa loquitur is Latin for “the thing speaks for itself.”
Essentially, this legal doctrine means that the very act was so obviously negligent that simply describing what happened should be enough to prove legal negligence without having to present a lot of other evidence.
Gill Ports Hoste LLC can help you determine if this legal doctrine applies and can also help you to build the strongest possible case to hold your care providers accountable. Our firm will assist you by:
- Identifying all defendants: Often, you’ll want to pursue a claim not just against the doctor but also against the doctor’s employer. Hospitals and other facilities can be held liable based on their own negligence, such as inadequate safety policies. Or they can be liable based on vicarious liability rules that make them legally responsible for workers’ actions.
- Building your case: We have 90+ years of experience representing victims, and we’ll bring that knowledge to your case to make it as solid as possible, given the facts.
- Negotiating or settling your claim: We’ve recovered millions both in and out of court. Our negotiation and litigation skills make us formidable opponents who are unafraid to stand up to even the biggest hospitals and malpractice insurers in Illinois.
Contact a Chicago wrong-site surgery lawyer today
Gill Ports Hoste LLC is ready to fight for you if you’ve been the victim of a surgeon’s careless error. Give our Chicago wrong site surgery lawyers a call today to schedule a free consultation and find out about the assistance that we can offer as you fight for justice.