Brain Damage After Anesthesia Errors: Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyer

When Anesthesia Errors Cause Brain Damage, it Could be Oregon Medical Malpractice

 

Almost everyone is anxious about going into surgery.  This is a reasonable fear.  Most people are afraid of the unknown, particularly the anesthesia which results in the patient being knocked out.  While the vast majority of all surgeries go well without an issue, unfortunately there are too many surgeries which do not.  One of the most common surgical mistakes is actually not by the surgeon, but by the anesthesiologist and anesthesia team.  This is because anesthesia errors could cause very severe injuries, including brain damage, due to Oregon medical malpractice.  Even small mistakes could have catastrophic results.

 

This is because anesthesia itself is very potent.  Anesthesia is a cocktail of three classes of drugs which are meant to block pain, render unconscious, and paralyze a patient.  Any mistake in the dosage, too small or too large, could have disastrous results.  This is particularly true in overdoses, where the caustic nature of the drugs could easily damage nerves and cause brain damage.  

 

But this is not the most common way that anesthesia errors cause brain damage.  The most common way is due to improper oxygen levels.  These improper oxygen levels result in a hypoxic injury, or lack of oxygen condition, to the body.  The brain is the most susceptible to this type of injury.

 

Common Ways that Anesthesia Errors Cause Brain Damage Due to Hypoxia

 

When it comes to anesthesia errors results in hypoxic injuries to the brain, there are several common ways that this could occur.  These mistakes are almost always Oregon medical malpractice, and they are almost always catastrophic, debilitating, and permanent.  The most common mistakes include the following:

 

• Failing to properly intubate a patient – this is when an air tube it put down a patient’s mouth and into his or her lungs.  When the air tube is not properly directed into the lungs, but rather into the stomach, a patient will not receive a proper flow of oxygen.  This results in a hypoxic condition which can cause brain damage.
• Failing to monitor oxygen saturation levels – even if an air tube is properly placed, an anesthesia team must properly monitor a patient’s oxygen saturation levels.  This is usually done through many medical devices, including a pulse oximeter which merely clips onto a finger and monitors blood-oxygen levels.  Failing to properly place such device, using a broken one, or failing to monitor the O2 sats, could result in serious injury to a patient.
• Failing to identify complications with anesthesia – When a patient begins to suffer complications during a surgery, it may not be the surgeon’s fault by the anesthesiologist’s fault.  This is because the anesthesia is so potent that it could provoke certain responses in the body, including dramatic drops in blood pressure, body temperature swing, and hydration.  These complications can all effect the brain and result in brain damage if not properly monitored.
• Anesthesia overdoses – this is self-explanatory, as anesthesia is very caustic and an overdose of any pain killer or medication could result in lower oxygen levels or just act as poison on the brain.

Brain Damage After a Surgery?  Ask our Bend Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyer Whether it Was Due to an Anesthesia Error

 

Anesthesia errors can be hard to identify, but incredibly dangerous or even deadly.  Any individual who has undergone any surgical procedure under anesthesia and has sustained a serious brain injury should call our Oregon medical malpractice lawyer to learn what rights to compensation that he or she may have.  

 

Our law office is located in Bend, Oregon, and we handle cases throughout Oregon including Portland, Eugene, Salem, Gresham, and throughout Central Oregon, Deschutes County, and more generally in Oregon.  We also have an office in Minnesota.  To receive a FREE consultation, please call our Oregon medical malpractice lawyer by dialing (541) 385-1999 or use our easy and convenient “contact us” box at the bottom of our website.  If we accept your case, we will conduct a FREE investigation to get you the answers that you deserve regarding your birth injury case.