What is Wrong-Site Surgery?

Undergoing surgery is often a terrifying situation that many people go through every day. Patients put their trust in medical professionals to provide them with safe and well-thought-out procedures. Every surgery comes with various risks that both the doctor and the patient are often well aware of. What a patient would never expect is for a surgery to be carried out in the wrong place.
Wrong-site surgery is an error that occurs when a surgery is carried out on the wrong part of the body. Most commonly in eye, arm, hand, leg, and foot surgery, wrong-site surgery could be as simple as performing a procedure on the left hand rather than the right hand, for example. Wrong-site surgeries could also occur with vital organs, such as carrying out a procedure on the left lung rather than the right lung. These errors can be devastating and could create damage far beyond what the original surgery was supposed to fix to begin with.
Wrong-site surgeries are often the result of negligence and clerical errors.  The site of the surgery is supposed to be well-detailed and accounted for. When these errors occur, they can be fatal. Wrong-site surgery is so serious that it is actually referred to as a “never event” in the medical field because, being so basic and important to a patient’s wellbeing, a mistake like this should never actually occur.
The effects of a wrong-site surgery can be catastrophic. Even if the error is fixed, it should never occur in the first place.
If you or a loved one has been injured, or if you have lost a loved one due to wrong-site surgery, you need to contact a medical malpractice attorney to discuss your rights. Contact the experienced medical malpractice attorneys at Lombardi and Lombardi, P.A. today to schedule your case evaluation.