Medical Negligence Attorneys in Utah
When administered correctly, anesthesia is safe and effective. The administration of anesthesia is risky. Patients can have adverse effects even when administered correctly. When administered incorrectly, anesthesia is dangerous and life threatening. Some risks are heart attacks, strokes, comas or death.
Standard of Care for Administration of Anesthesia
Anesthesia should only be administered when a highly trained and experienced anesthesiologist is physically present. The anesthesiologist must monitor the patient’s vital signs carefully and be prepared to respond appropriately when problems arise. Unfortunately, not all anesthesiologists are as skilled or careful as they should be, and the consequences can be catastrophic. Failure to guard against drug interactions and allergic reactions can cause serious physical injury. Anesthesia overdose can cause patients to suffer comas or death, while insufficient anesthesia can leave patients “aware” during surgery. Anesthesia awareness is a condition in which an anesthetized person is able to see and hear what’s going on and experience pain, but unable to move or speak in order to make their condition known. An anesthesiologist must take care to:
- Not Overdose or under-dose the patient
- Deliver the anesthesia at the correct time (not to early and not too late)
- Fail to avoid an allergic reaction if it could have reasonably been prevented
- Fail to guard against drug interactions
- Fail to instruct the patient not to eat or drink prior to surgery
- Fail to properly administer oxygen during surgery
- Fail to properly monitor the vital signs of a patient
- Use defective or recalled medical devices during sedation
Anesthesia Complications
Some common injuries are:
- Asphyxia
- Anesthesia Awareness
- Birth defects
- Brain Injuries
- Coma
- Death
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Loss of bodily function
- Spinal cord injury or paralysis
- Post Operative Vision Loss
Your Legal Rights
Financial compensation may be available for people who were injured by the improper administration of anesthesia. Utah law provides a right to sue the anesthesiologist and surgical center in a civil court and obtain monetary compensation. Our aim is to aggressively pursue these claims for our clients and settle cases out of court if possible. When a reasonable settlement is not offered, we are prepared to take the case to court.
Free Initial Consultation
Our experienced anesthesia injury attorneys are available to review your case. If we accept your case we will handle it on a contingency fee basis. In other words, no fee unless we collect. If you, or a loved one, believe that you may have been injured by the improper administration of anesthesia, please call or click for a free initial consultation. Home and hospital appointments are available.