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Your nervous system is absolutely vital to every function in your body. Injury to nerves running through your body or up and down your spine can cause permanent damage that interferes with your body’s normal function, causes motor control problems, leads to total paralysis, or gives rise to intense pain and discomfort.
If you or a loved one suffered nerve damage during a surgical procedure or because of a doctor’s mistakes in the operating room, you may be entitled to sue the responsible physician for the medical care, pain and suffering, lost wages, and other effects of the injury. To learn more about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit for nerve damage, contact The Queenan Law Firm’s Houston attorneys for nerve damage caused by surgery. Our attorneys are available to take your call at (817) 476-1797.
Causes of Nerve Damage During Surgery
Nerve damage can occur during surgery from many potential issues, some of which are inherent risks and complications associated with some surgical procedures, and others of which are only caused by a doctor’s negligent care. Typically, surgery is risky. Complications can arise that cause you more harm than intended, but these risks should be discussed as part of your informed consent before you ever undergo a non-emergency procedure. Any injuries you suffer during surgery because of your doctor’s carelessness, inattention, or lack of skill are unacceptable causes of nerve damage and can often lead to medical malpractice lawsuits.
Doctors who fail to use the proper care or skill during surgery might sever or damage nerves with a scalpel or other tools used during the procedure. In these kinds of injuries, the doctor may be able to reattach the nerve, but you may suffer residual effects such as numbness, motor control issues, partial paralysis, or a “pins and needles” sensation. In worse cases, the damage might go initially unnoticed, or you may suffer permanent injuries.
Other nerve damage can occur during surgery because of the way you are positioned on the operating table. Laying on your arm or sitting with a joint bent can be uncomfortable because of the excess pressure on your nerves. Staying in a position where the nerve is impinged for a prolonged time can lead to permanent nerve damage. These kinds of injuries are common when doctors and nurses fail to move or adjust patients on the operating table to avoid impinged nerves. An unconscious patient cannot avoid these “positioning injuries” on their own, so it is the doctor’s responsibility to keep the patient safe.
Other nerve damage can occur because of drugs or anesthesia used during the procedure. If nerve damage occurs this way, your anesthesiologist can often be held accountable.
Suing for Nerve Damage from a Surgical Procedure
Successfully suing for errors from a surgical procedure depends heavily on the specific facts of your case. The doctor in your case may have been confronted with complications that no one would have been able to predict and problems that no one could have prevented. Alternatively, the issues you faced could have occurred solely because your doctor failed to take measures to prevent issues or was careless in performing the surgery. Fighting the case in court may be the only way to recover compensation in your case by proving the doctor was negligent.
To prove negligence, you must show that the responsible party failed to use the proper care or skill they should have used. In medical malpractice cases, what is reasonable is typically determined by preventing testimony from other medical experts who perform similar procedures. They can state what your doctor should have done better and help show a jury how your physician was negligent. If you can prove that your doctor violated the standard of care and caused your injuries, you can typically receive compensation.
Proving how much your case is worth is also an important part of the case. Victims often suffer high damages related to additional medical care costs, lost wages caused by permanent injuries and disabilities, and substantial pain and suffering. Proving the economic damages in these cases usually means producing medical bills, therapy bills, bank statements, pay stubs, and other financial evidence of the costs you incurred because of the failed procedure. The damages for pain and suffering are unique to each person, but you can typically claim higher damages by showing how the injury affected your life, your activities, your enjoyment, and other more abstract concepts.
When you sue, your attorney will build your case by holding depositions and interviewing the doctor, nursing staff, hospital representatives, and other people involved in your care. You will also be able to consult with experts, such as other physicians, to help support your case with testimony.
If your case is strong, the negligent doctor’s medical malpractice insurance company may prefer to settle your claim. This could mean receiving damages for your case without having to go to trial. If you are offered a settlement, it is vital to review the offer with your lawyer for help understanding whether it covers your needs in full or whether your case might be worth more in court.
Call Our Houston Surgical Nerve Injury Attorneys for a Free Legal Consultation
If you or a loved one suffered suspected nerve damage during a surgical procedure, talk to an attorney about your case. The Queenan Law Firm’s Houston attorneys for nerve damage caused by surgery may be able to take your case and fight to get you the compensation you need from negligent physicians and hospitals. For a free consultation and help learning more about suing for nerve damage after surgery, contact our attorneys today at (817) 476-1797.