Rhode Island Anesthesia Errors Attorneys

Anesthesia is usually administered to patients who must undergo a surgical procedure. The anesthesia puts the patient in a painless, unresponsive, and unconscious state while the surgeon performs the procedure. Like surgery itself, the administration of anesthesia is governed by protocols to prevent devastating mistakes. However, even with modern advancements in anesthesia, many mistakes occur, and may result in brain damage, asphyxia, coma, stroke, consciousness or pain during surgery, paralysis, heart attack, stroke, or even anesthesia death.

At Marasco & Nesselbush, our knowledgeable Rhode Island medical malpractice attorneys are devoted to obtaining personal, social, and economic justice for each and every client. If you or a loved one has been the victim of an anesthesia error, our decades of experience are at your disposal.

Common Anesthesia Mistakes

Approximately 40 million anesthetics are administered annually in the U.S., according to the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA). Although there have been improvements in patient safety, anesthesia errors still occur and still have the potential to cause serious harm or death. Some of the common anesthesia mistakes include:

• Dosage errors;
• Anesthesia Overdose;
• Administering anesthetic to an allergic patient;
• Dangerous drug interactions;
• Failure to recognize and/or treat anesthesia complications;
• Prolonged sedation;
• Failure to monitor vital signs;
• Delayed anesthesia delivery; and
• Defective equipment.

Types Of Anesthesia

Anesthesia errors are most dangerous during invasive surgical procedures that require complete sedation; however, errors occur with all four types of anesthesia: 1) Local anesthesia; 2) Regional anesthesia; 3) General anesthesia; and 4) Dissociative anesthesia.

• Local anesthesia blocks sensation in a specific location on the body, such as a finger or tooth.
• Regional anesthesia inhibits sensation in a larger area of the body by blocking nerve impulses to that area from the spinal cord.
• General anesthesia involves total sedation. All motor, sensory, and sympathetic nerve impulse transmissions are blocked at the brain, leaving a patient unconscious and without feeling.
• Dissociative anesthesia blocks nerve transmissions within the brain, between the higher and lower centers.

Our Commitment To You

The majority of medical professionals provide patients the highest quality of care and attention available; however, there are some who, for one reason or another, are negligent in their duty. Anesthesia is a regulated process that requires a medical professional’s full attention and concentration, whether the person administering the anesthesia is a nurse, surgeon, anesthesiologist, or another physician. If the correct procedures are not followed, and too much anesthesia is administered or another error occurs, the consequences can be deadly.

If you or a loved one has been harmed by anesthesia errors, the dedicated Rhode Island medical malpractice attorneys at Marasco & Nesselbush can help you get the compensation you are entitled to. With an unwavering devotion to personal, social, and economic justice, Marasco & Nesselbush strives to obtain extraordinary results for each and every client. Call our Rhode Island personal injury attorneys for a free consultation today at 401-443-2999, or fill out a contact form.