Anesthesia Malpractice Attorneys

Serving New Jersey and the Philadelphia metropolitan area

Effective and safe anesthesia is one of the great achievements of modern medicine. However, anesthesia carries great risks. It must be administered with care, precision and skill. That’s why we have anesthesiologists, specialists who work with surgeons, whose job is to administer anesthesia and monitor a patient’s functioning during surgery.

Even with the precaution of having a specialist whose only responsibility during the procedure is monitoring the patient, errors occur far too often. These errors can have catastrophic consequences, and in some cases, can be fatal.

Anesthesia Errors
Medical malpractice causing anesthesia accidents can be on the part of anesthesiologists or other health care professionals involved in a surgical procedure. Among the many ways that anesthesia accidents may occur, errors can start with a failure to properly evaluate a patient, or can occur during an operation. Some common anesthesia errors include:

• Failure to timely react to oxygenation problems
• Failure to properly administer oxygen during surgery
• Failure to properly monitor a patient
• Administering anesthesia to an allergic patient
• Too much anesthesia
• Harmful drug interactions with the anesthesia
• Too little anesthesia
• Delayed anesthesia delivery
• Defective medical devices used during sedation
• Inadequate product labeling
• Failing to provide the patient with proper instructions, such as not eating or drinking prior to surgery

Anesthesia Injuries
Among the many potential consequences of anesthesia overdose are coma, brain injury, and death. Anesthesia accidents can result in:

• Heart attack
• Stroke
• Asphyxia
• Brain injury
• Birth defects
• Nerve damage
• Spinal cord injury
• Paralysis
• Coma
• Death
• Awareness and/or pain during surgery

Anesthesia Awareness
One of the most horrifying anesthesia accidents is the administration of too little anesthesia or delayed anesthesia resulting in awareness, waking up, and/or the ability to feel pain during surgery.

During “anesthesia awareness” the patient is paralyzed and cannot move or communicate, but may experience extreme pain, feeling the surgery itself, the inability to breathe, and extreme terror. Anesthesia awareness can lead to long-term psychological and emotional damage, including:

• Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
• Sleep disorders
• Flashbacks
• Panic and anxiety disorders
• Extreme fear of doctors and medical settings, leading to the avoidance of necessary medical care

How We Can Help
Undergoing an operation where anesthesia will be administered means placing complete trust in an anesthesiologist to safeguard a patient’s vital life functions. While the vast majority of anesthesiology administration is safely performed without incident, anesthesiology errors do occur, sometimes with devastating results.

Anesthesiology injuries can mean sudden physical, emotional, and financial hardships for patients and their families. During this time, it is difficult to think about seeking legal help, but there are time limits for taking legal action. In addition, in many cases you will need the compensation that you deserve as soon as possible.

If you or a loved one has experienced serious injury or death which you believe may have been due to anesthesiology error or malpractice, you may be entitled to compensation including:

• Current and future medical bills
• Current and future loss of wages
• Long-term disability
• Long-term care expenses
• Rehabilitation
• Pain and suffering
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Loss of companionship
• Burial expenses

Collectively, New Jersey medical malpractice lawyers Michael L. Weiss, Esq. and Robert E. Paarz, Esq. have presented over 15 cases of anesthesiology malpractice to juries and have helped several families achieve substantial financial recoveries. They are committed to using their knowledge and experience to help any individual or family who has suffered a severe, permanent injury or death due to medical malpractice to obtain fair compensation. If you believe you or a loved one may have experienced such an injury, please contact Weiss & Paarz, P.C., today.