Louisville Anesthesia Error Attorney

Going under general anesthesia is necessary for thousands of life-saving surgeries and procedures. Unfortunately, patients don’t always recover from anesthesia without physical injury and/or emotional trauma. Too much or too little anesthesia are mistakes that can seriously harm or even kill the patient. Contact Meinhart & Manning, PLLC to work with Louisville medical malpractice attorneys attorneys who have experience handling anesthesia errors. We can walk you through the med mal claims process and fight for just compensation for you or a loved one’s injuries in Louisville.

Anesthesiologist Negligence

An anesthesia error is a form of medical malpractice. This means it’s something that a reasonable and prudent medical professional likely would have prevented under the same circumstances. While not all anesthesia-related harm comes down to someone else’s negligence, it often does. It is the anesthesiologist’s job to conduct a full interview of the patient prior to a surgical procedure. The anesthesiologist must review the patient’s medical history, current medications, weight, and many other factors to calculate the precise correct dosage.

During the procedure, the anesthesiologist must carefully monitor the patient to make sure everything goes as planned. Warning signs that something is wrong, such as increased heart rate or lack of oxygen to the brain, should push the anesthesiologist into action to remedy the issue and prevent harm to the patient. Failure to attend to any of these job-related duties, causing patient harm, is medical malpractice. Medical malpractice claims in Kentucky can involve general anesthesia, regional anesthesia, or local anesthesia errors.

Risks and Injuries Relating to Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia is a toxic substance that only works as intended with careful dosing, monitoring, and regulation. Even a minor error can make anesthesia dangerous or deadly to a patient. If an anesthesiologist becomes distracted, doesn’t have adequate training, miscalculates the dosage, fails to monitor the patient during surgery, or otherwise makes a mistake, it could result in several different injuries to the patient, including:

• Intubation-related injuries. Tracheal damage and other harm can occur when the medical professional improperly intubates the patient to prepare for anesthesia.
• Cardiovascular harm. Stroke or heart attack can occur under anesthesia, as a result of improper dosage.
• Birth defects. If a mother undergoes surgery in the first or second trimester of pregnancy, there is a chance that the developing fetus could be subject to birth defects. Exposure to harmful anesthetic gases could result in birth defects or miscarriage.
• Brain damage. If the brain does not receive enough oxygen due to too much anesthesia or another error, it can cause permanent brain damage.
• Anesthesia awareness. Too little anesthesia can lead to a rare state called “anesthesia awareness,” in which the patient is aware of what’s happening but unable to speak or move. This can cause psychological trauma to the patient.
• Coma or death. Brain damage or traumatic brain injury can cause coma or even death to a patient due to anesthesia errors.

If you or a loved one suffered brain damage, spine injuries, asphyxia, birth defects, or any other type of harm during a medical procedure, review your case with an experienced Louisville injury lawyer. Meinhart, Smith & Manning, PPLC offers free consultations to review the details of your surgery and subsequent injuries. If there’s enough evidence to pursue a medical malpractice claim, our team will handle your lawsuit on a contingency fee basis, meaning there’s no attorney fees unless you win. Contact our Louisville offices today for immediate legal help.