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Our bodies are symmetrical in many ways – two eyes, ears, arms, legs, lungs, kidneys etc – and this is one of the reasons for surgeons occasionally making a doctor's error which leads to a wrong site surgery claim.
This type of clinical negligence happens at a rate of approximately two instances a month occurring nationwide but, of course, any operation is an extremely serious matter for the patient concerned and the consequences of mistaken surgery could even be fatal.
A second operation to correct the original problem may put excessive strain on the body and lead to long-term illness or disability. This should be reflected in any personal injury claim made because of a medical professional's mistake.
The National Patient Safety Agency (NPSA) has an important role in monitoring instances of wrong site surgery which comes into its category of Never Events which are serious patient safety events that should not occur if appropriate preventative measures had been taken.
In its guidance to help prevent wrong site surgery, the NPSA issues guidelines on patient identity wristbands. It suggests they should be standardised across hospitals in England and Wales so that staff will understand the same system wherever they work.
The NPSA has worked with the World Health Organisation and the Royal College of Surgeons to develop a surgical safety checklist for use in an operating theatre environment. This checklist should be implemented on every occasion and a hierarchy of responsibility set out to ensure it is correct.
Proper record-keeping is one important aspect of reducing the chances of a wrong site surgical accident occurring, consistency of methods and practised systems are also vital, especially in an emergency situation where quick action is needed to help a patient.
Communication between the medical staff is important at all stages of health care but, while patients are conscious, they should be consulted to be certain a mistake will not occur once they have been anaesthetised. Relatives or friends of patients may need to be involved if a patient is unable to indicate where surgery should be performed.
This last aspect may be particularly relevant in the case of a child, elderly person or someone with reduced mental capacity, who may be confused about their condition and requirement for surgery.
Despite the guidance from the NPSA and other precautions, unfortunately clinical negligence cases of wrong site surgery do still occur as a result of actions or neglect by health professionals and compensation is almost always payable to the victim or their dependants in the case of death.
YouClaim for a wrong site surgery claim
Suffering from wrong site surgery is usually an extremely serious problem and the services of an experienced clinical negligence solicitor will be needed to represent the claimant and obtain an appropriate settlement of damages.
YouClaim has specialist lawyers available throughout the UK who have the highest professional standards as monitored by the Solicitors Regulation Authority.
This expertise is allied with a sympathetic and helpful attitude aimed at achieving justified recompense for all those who have suffered pain or loss of earnings as a result of the failings of another person or organisation.
Our internet service means convenience, speed and efficiency so contact us now using the online claim form on this page if you are concerned about a wrong site surgery claim and we'll get back to you, or you can call direct to speak to one of our legal staff on 0800 10 757 95.
