When you enter a hospital or surgical center, you trust the medical professionals around you with your life. Anesthesia allows doctors to perform complex procedures without pain, but it also carries serious risks if not handled with precision and care. If an anesthesiologist or other medical provider makes a mistake, the results can be life-changing or even fatal. That is where an experienced anesthesia error lawyer in Maryland can step in to fight for your rights.
Our team of Maryland medical malpractice lawyers takes pride in holding negligent healthcare providers accountable. At our firm, we live by the belief that being big dogs in a small firm means offering sound advocacy while still providing the personal attention you deserve. We are not just your lawyers. We are your partners in this journey.
The Role of Anesthesia in Medical Care
Anesthesia is used in countless medical procedures, from minor outpatient treatments to major surgeries. It keeps you safe and comfortable while doctors perform operations that would otherwise cause unbearable pain. There are several different types of anesthesia:
- Local Anesthesia: This numbs a small, specific area of the body. Errors are less common but can still occur, for example, if a provider administers the wrong dosage, leading to a toxic reaction.
- Regional Anesthesia: This numbs a larger region of the body, such as an arm, leg, or the lower half of the body. Epidurals and spinal blocks are common examples. Errors can include nerve damage or infection.
- General Anesthesia: This is what most people think of when they hear “anesthesia.” It renders the patient unconscious, pain-free, and unaware of the procedure. This is where many of the most severe errors, such as those related to intubation and dosage, tend to occur.
- Conscious or Moderate Sedation: This is often used for less invasive procedures. The patient remains awake but is relaxed and may not remember the procedure. Errors can still happen if the patient is over-sedated or not properly monitored, leading to respiratory depression.
Each form of anesthesia requires careful administration and close monitoring. Any mistake in dosage, delivery, or follow-up care can cause devastating harm.
Common Anesthesia Errors During Surgery
Anesthesia errors are a specific and complex type of medical malpractice. They are not merely unfortunate accidents. They are often the direct result of a medical professional’s failure to meet the standard of care. These errors can occur at any point during a procedure, from the initial pre-operative consultation to the post-operative recovery room. Understanding the different types of anesthesia errors is the first step toward building a strong legal case.
Incorrect Anesthesia Dosage
Administering too much or too little anesthesia is a dangerous error. Too much can lead to brain damage, cardiac arrest, or death, while too little can cause the patient to wake up during surgery, experiencing excruciating pain and psychological trauma. The proper dosage depends on numerous factors, including the patient’s age, weight, and overall health. Failing to consider these factors is a serious act of negligence.
Delay in Delivering Anesthesia
Timing is critical in medicine. A delay in administering anesthesia can lead to the patient experiencing pain or complications before the procedure even begins. Conversely, a delay in reducing or stopping anesthesia can cause prolonged sedation, leading to complications like respiratory depression.
Errors in Patient Intubation
Anesthesia often requires intubation to assist with breathing. If the intubation is performed incorrectly, such as if the tube is placed in the esophagus instead of the trachea, it can cut off the patient’s oxygen supply, leading to brain damage or death. The anesthesiologist must be highly skilled and attentive during this critical part of the procedure.
Negligent Patient Monitoring
Anesthesiologists and their teams are responsible for continuously monitoring the patient’s vital signs, including heart rate, blood pressure, oxygen saturation, and body temperature. Failing to monitor these signs or to react appropriately to a change can lead to severe complications. For instance, a drop in blood pressure that goes unnoticed can result in a lack of blood flow to the brain and other organs.
Failure to Note Anesthesia Allergy
A patient’s medical history is a critical component of pre-operative care. An anesthesiologist must meticulously review a patient’s charts for any known allergies to anesthetic drugs. A failure to do so, resulting in an allergic reaction, can be catastrophic, leading to anaphylactic shock and death.
Administering the Incorrect Drug
There are many different types of anesthetic and sedative drugs, and administering the wrong one can have devastating consequences. The wrong drug could fail to sedate the patient, cause an allergic reaction, or interact dangerously with other medications the patient is taking.
Equipment Failure
While a medical professional may not be directly at fault for a malfunctioning machine, they are responsible for ensuring all equipment is properly maintained and functioning before a procedure begins. A negligent failure to check and verify equipment, such as an anesthesia machine or a ventilator, can lead to a preventable tragedy.
The Devastating Fallout of Long-Term and Fatal Anesthesia Errors
The consequences of an anesthesia error can be profound and permanent. When the brain is deprived of oxygen for even a few minutes, the damage can be irreversible. Victims may suffer from a range of long-term effects that alter their lives forever:
- Brain Damage: This is one of the most feared outcomes. Anesthesia errors that lead to hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen, can cause permanent cognitive impairment, memory loss, and speech difficulties. The victim may require lifelong care.
- Cardiac Issues: Anesthesia errors, especially those involving incorrect dosages or a failure to monitor vital signs, can lead to severe cardiac complications. A sudden drop in blood pressure or a lack of oxygen can cause a heart attack, heart failure, or other permanent damage to the heart muscle, leading to lifelong health problems.
- Nerve Damage: Incorrectly administered regional anesthesia can cause lasting nerve damage, leading to chronic pain, numbness, or paralysis in the affected area.
- Coma: In the most severe cases, an anesthesia error can lead to a prolonged coma, leaving the patient in a vegetative state.
- Psychological Trauma: Waking up during surgery is a terrifying experience that can leave a patient with severe and lasting psychological trauma, including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
- Reduced Quality of Life: Many victims live with ongoing pain, disability, or dependence on caregivers.
In the most tragic cases, anesthesia errors result in fatal outcomes, leaving families to cope with the sudden and preventable loss of a loved one.
Fatal Anesthesia Errors and Wrongful Death
When an anesthesia error leads to death, the impact on the family is immeasurable. Wrongful death claims in Maryland allow surviving loved ones to seek justice and financial compensation for funeral costs, lost income, and the loss of companionship. While no lawsuit can replace what has been taken, holding negligent medical providers accountable can prevent similar tragedies for others.
Proving Medical Malpractice in Maryland
Not every bad outcome from surgery is malpractice. To bring a successful case, your anesthesia error attorney in Maryland must be able to prove it legally. The burden of proof rests on the injured patient. To secure a successful outcome, we must prove four critical components.
Duty of Care
Under the doctor-patient relationship, the anesthesiologist and the entire medical team had a professional duty to provide competent care that meets the accepted standard of practice.
Breach of Duty
We must show that the medical professional’s actions or inactions fell below the standard of care that a reasonably competent professional would have exercised under similar circumstances. In Maryland, this requires an expert medical witness, such as another anesthesiologist or a similarly qualified professional, to testify that the defendant’s conduct was negligent.
Causation
This means establishing a direct link between the medical professional’s negligent act and your specific injury. We must demonstrate that the anesthesia error was the proximate cause of the harm you suffered, not some pre-existing condition or an unavoidable complication.
Damages
You must have suffered actual harm because of the negligence. This is not just about physical injury. It includes all the consequences you have faced and will continue to face. These damages can include medical bills, lost wages, a diminished ability to earn an income, and compensation for your pain, suffering, and emotional distress.
Medical malpractice cases are complex. They require expert testimony, thorough investigation, and experienced legal advocacy. That is precisely what our Maryland anesthesia error lawyers provide.
How Jaklitsch Law Group Investigates Anesthesia Error Cases
When you come to us, we look at the entirety of your situation, not just the medical records. Our investigation often includes:
- Reviewing hospital charts, anesthesia logs, and monitoring records
- Consulting with anesthesiology experts to evaluate whether the medical provider followed proper protocols
- Examining whether the equipment was faulty or improperly maintained
- Interviewing witnesses, including nurses and surgical staff
- Assessing the full scope of your damages, including future care needs
This thorough approach allows us to build a strong case that reflects what went wrong and how it has impacted your life.
Compensation You Can Recover in Anesthesia Error Cases
Victims of anesthesia malpractice may be entitled to compensation for economic and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
Economic damages are the tangible, quantifiable financial losses you have incurred or will incur as a direct result of the anesthesia error. There is no cap on these damages in Maryland, meaning we can fight to secure every dollar you deserve. These damages often include:
- Past and Future Medical Expenses: This covers all costs related to the injury, from the initial emergency room visit and subsequent hospital stays to ongoing therapy, medication, and any future surgeries or long-term care you may need. We work with life-care planners and medical experts to accurately project the full extent of these costs.
- Lost Wages and Diminished Earning Capacity: If your injury caused you to miss work, you can recover the income you lost. For more severe, permanent injuries that prevent you from returning to your former job or earning the same income in the future, we will seek compensation for your diminished earning capacity.
- Rehabilitation and Assistive Care: This includes the cost of physical therapy, occupational therapy, psychological counseling, and any in-home care or assistive devices you require to manage your injury and live as independently as possible.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate you for the intangible, personal losses that have no fixed monetary value. These damages acknowledge the profound impact the anesthesia error has had on your quality of life. They can include:
- Pain and Suffering: This compensates for the physical pain and discomfort you have endured and will continue to experience.
- Emotional Distress and Mental Anguish: This covers the psychological trauma, including anxiety, depression, and PTSD, that can result from a terrifying experience like waking up during surgery or suffering a life-altering injury.
- Disfigurement and Permanent Impairment: If the injury has caused permanent scarring, disfigurement, or physical limitations, you are entitled to compensation for this loss.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: This accounts for the inability to participate in hobbies, recreational activities, and daily life routines that you enjoyed before the injury.
- Loss of Consortium: If you are married, your spouse can seek damages for the loss of companionship, comfort, and intimacy caused by your injuries.
In Maryland, non-economic damages are subject to a statutory cap. This cap changes annually and is tied to the year the injury occurred. We will meticulously document every aspect of your case to help seek the full amount of uncapped economic damages and capped non-economic damages you are entitled to under the law. We are not intimidated by the caps. We are motivated to help you receive everything you deserve.
Why Choose Jaklitsch Law Group
Many firms handle high volumes of cases, leaving clients feeling like just another file number. That is not how we operate. Our philosophy is simple:
- Big Dogs: We are aggressive, skilled trial lawyers who are not afraid to take on hospitals, doctors, and insurance companies.
- Small Firm: We give each client the personal attention they deserve. You will have direct contact with your attorney and legal team working on your case.
- Client-Focused: We treat every client like family, guiding you through each step with compassion and honesty.
Our size allows us to be flexible and accessible, but our experience gives us the power to stand toe-to-toe with Maryland’s biggest hospitals and insurers.
Maryland’s Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations
Maryland law generally gives patients three years from the date of the injury, or five years from when the malpractice occurred, whichever comes first, to file a claim. Missing this deadline could bar you from seeking compensation. That is why consulting our Maryland anesthesia error attorneys as soon as you suspect a mistake is essential.
Contact Our Maryland Anesthesia Error Lawyers Today
If you have suffered from an anesthesia error, our medical malpractice attorneys at Jaklitsch Law Group are ready to fight for you. We combine the resources and skills of a large firm with the personal attention only a small firm can provide. Let us help you seek accountability, closure, and the compensation you need to move forward. To schedule a free consultation with our anesthesia error attorneys, contact our Maryland law firm today.
