Despite several years of medical school and residency, doctors and surgeons make mistakes. After all, physicians and surgeons are humans and we all make mistakes. However, it is when those mistakes are beyond repair or could have been prevented that a surgical mistake can turn someone life's completely upside down. This is a time when some in New York believe the surgeon should be held liable for their negligent actions.
A woman has recently filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against her physician in another state. She alleges that the surgeon damaged one of her nerves during a throat surgery. She had gone in for a tonsillectomy and two other procedures on Feb. 23.
Roughly seven months later, she received a diagnosis that would affect her ability to eat solid foods. On Sept. 13, she discovered that she would only be able to eat pureed foods and liquids. Due to the surgical error, the woman alleges that she suffered acid reflux and speech problems.
The woman asserts that the surgeon did not perform the surgery per surgical planes and dissection fields. She further alleges that the surgeon failed to diagnose her condition of glossopharyngeal nerve paralysis in a timely manner following the initial surgery in Feb. 2011. She is now seeking monetary damages in excess of $150,000.
In most cases, a surgical mistake can be completely prevented. However, for New York residents who have been injured following a surgical error, it can be helpful to know that they may have legal recourse. When surgeons fall below the standard of care that they are required to provide, victims may be able to hold the negligent party responsible for their actions with a civil claim that could recover financial restitution for the harm that the negligent surgeon caused.
Source: The Madison-St. Clair Record, "Nerve damaged during throat surgery, med mal suit says", , May 20, 2014
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