Intubation Errors Could Lead to Serious Injuries or Death
If you’re going into surgery, it’s always a good idea to get to know the anesthesiologist. They control general anesthesia when you go under. It’s their responsibility to intubate you to and make sure that your body gets enough oxygen throughout the procedure. Failing to do this job correctly has severe consequences. In a worst-case scenario, a patient could die.
Intubation errors do have the risk of leading to a medical malpractice claim if those errors lead to injuries. When a person is intubated, it is possible that the tube may not be inserted correctly.
When the tube is not inserted correctly, there is a risk that the patient may not get enough oxygen. There is a risk that they could suffer damage to the airway as well. In either case, the person could pass away from hypoxia (a lack of oxygen in the body) or wake up with nerve damage.
A sore throat doesn’t mean there were errors
Some people wake up and believe that having a sore throat means that there was an intubation error. This is not the case. In fact, it’s very normal to wake up with a sore throat after intubation.
However, if that sore throat doesn’t resolve after a few days and you discover that there is damage to your vocal cords, that you have nerve damage or that there are other unexplained injuries that need further investigation, then you may have a claim against the anesthesiologist.
As a patient, it’s your right to receive the highest quality care each and every time you see a medical professional for treatment. When treatment doesn’t give you the results you expected, that doesn’t necessarily mean errors happened or that there was malpractice. However, having new injuries, nerve damage, brain damage or other serious changes could be a sign that a mistake was made. It’s worth taking the time to talk to your doctors about any issues they had during your surgery. If you believe that you need to make a medical malpractice claim, your attorney can help you seek the compensation you need.