Surgeons are held to high standards of care when treating patients. Surgery is an incredibly complex process, and all doctors are required to use a reasonable level of care and skill when performing procedures on patients who need their help. If you or a loved one was injured during surgery by a doctor who cut too deep or damaged nerves, call our Miami attorney for nerve damage caused by surgery.
Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA’s medical malpractice and surgical error lawyer helps victims suffering from nerve damage, numbness, and paralysis related to surgical errors. Our lawyer will fight to take the responsible doctor and hospital to court to get you the compensation you need for your additional medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other harms related to the injury. To set up a free legal consultation on your case, contact our law offices today at (305) 694-2676.
Common Symptoms of Nerve Damage
Nerves are vital to your body’s normal functions. Nerves send signals from your brain to the individual parts of your body and back again, relaying sensory information, like signals that something you touch is hot, cold, soft, or sharp. Nerves carry your sense of touch, but they also transmit signals for your body parts to move and function as they are supposed to. Nerves operate your eyes, ears, and nose; they operate your bowels and bladder; and they operate your heart, lungs, and other vital organs. Nerves are unfortunately also very fragile and delicate, and any damage to the nerve can interfere with these signals.
Unlike other tissue in your body (e.g., skin, bones, or muscles), damage to your nerves is often permanent. Nerves are not capable of healing like skin or bones can, and severing or damaging a nerve can often interfere with its function or cut off the signal altogether. In many cases of nerve damage, the nerve is not severed entirely, but it may suffer damage that reduces its ability to send signals or interferes with the signal.
This can often result in a few different problems. Severing a nerve entirely or damaging it beyond repair can result in total paralysis, numbness, and loss of sensation in whatever the nerve links to. For instance, severing a nerve in the hand may result in a finger becoming numb and immobile. Severing other nerves could result in loss of bowel control, muscle weakness, or other detrimental effects.
Damage short of severing a nerve can cause numbness, pain, “pins-and-needles” sensations, and other harmful effects. Moreover, weakness, reduced motor control, and other difficulty moving or using the body party might occur. These sensations may go away over time or be reduced through surgery and physical therapy, but you still might not recover to 100%.
Common Causes of Nerve Damage During Surgery
Nerve damage can be caused in a few different ways during surgery. One of the most common ways that nerve damage occurs is during surgery involving those nerves. If your doctor is supposed to operate on or near your nerves, such as in procedures involving previous nerve injuries or spinal cord damage, the nerves are at a higher risk of incidental damage and exposure. In many cases, these injuries are within the normal expected side effects of the procedure, which your doctor should properly warn you about.
Some of these instances of injury and other instances of nerve damage during surgery come from negligence. In many cases, the doctor has no business cutting nerves or damaging them in any way, so any damage to your nerves could be outside the realm of acceptable complications.
Many times, nerves are severed because of mistakes made with scalpels and other tools. If a doctor cuts too deep and nicks or severs a nerve, it can cause serious damage to your body. Many times these nerves can be reconnected, but you may still suffer ongoing effects such as numbness, pain, or reduced motor control.
Other nerve damage occurs from “positioning injuries.” During surgery, the patient is put under anesthesia to prevent feeling the surgery and prevent the patient from moving around. As such, the patient has no ability to roll over or move if they are posed in an uncomfortable position. In some cases, the patient’s weight on a bent arm or leg could cause injury to the nerves or a nerve junction, resulting in permanent or long-term injury.
Injuries to nerves can also occur during childbirth. Injury to the facial or cranial nerve is common in cases involving the misuse of forceps and other tools to extract the baby. Similar to positioning issues, babies can also suffer injuries to the nerves in their shoulder or arm (e.g., the brachial plexus) if they are cramped or moved in an awkward way. This could result in developmental problems, paralysis, numbness, and pain in the affected areas.
Suing for Nerve Injuries During Surgery
Victims of surgical mistakes are often entitled to sue their physician for “medical malpractice.” In a malpractice case, your attorney will use a medical expert’s testimony and the facts of the case to prove that your care fell below the standard of care that a patient in your situation should have reasonably received. These lawsuits can help you seek compensation for additional medical care, lost wages, pain and suffering, lost opportunities, lost capacity, and other harms to you and your family.
Call Our Miami Surgical Error and Nerve Damage Lawyer for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one underwent a surgical procedure in the Miami area and suffered nerve damage, talk to a lawyer about your case today. Our Miami nerve damage from surgical errors attorney represents injury victims and their families. To schedule a free legal consultation and learn more about how to get the compensation you need, call our offices today at (305) 694-2676.