Can You File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit for an Unnecessary Surgical Procedure?

Ravi Sanghvi

Unnecessary surgery can lead to huge medical bills, missed work, surgical scars, infections, and even death. Also, it results in a loss of trust. Every patient depends on doctors to take care of them and their health. Usually, such unnecessary procedures are done for financial gain. If you think you have been subjected to an unnecessary surgical procedure, you could be a victim of medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice happens when a hospital, physician, or other healthcare professional has been negligent with their patient, and their actions resulted in an injury. This can be due to an error not only in the treatment but also in the diagnosis and aftercare. It can be in any form. Here are the examples of the most common scenarios:

• Disregarding patient history
• Not recognizing obvious symptoms
• Wrong diagnosis
• Failed to order relevant examination
• Error in interpreting laboratory results
• Unnecessary surgery or performed on the wrong site
• Providing wrong medication or dosage
• Premature discharge
• Substandard aftercare

Was Your Surgery Unnecessary?

A lot of patients lost their lives because of medical errors, so doctors should only perform surgery when necessary. Some patients have to undergo surgery after getting second opinions from other medical experts or because they experienced some complications. Some factors should be considered whether or not your procedure is necessary. It should be a necessary surgical procedure if it improves your pre-existing condition.

What is Wrongful Surgery

A surgical procedure can be wrongful when the doctor performed it negligently and harmed the patient. It can include wrong patient surgery, wrong-site surgery, organ or nerve damage, infection, and leaving a surgical instrument in the patient's body. Mistakes like these should not happen. Medical experts must be held accountable for causing further injury to their patients.

Unnecessary Procedure and Medical Malpractice

If you file a malpractice lawsuit because of unnecessary surgery, you must prove negligence. You may have a case if the doctor failed to inform you of the benefits or risks of the procedure versus the risk of not getting the procedure done. Also, the doctor should have recommended the procedure without giving or taking into account some reasonable alternatives or performed the surgery based on a misdiagnosis.

Possible Compensation You Can Get

To get compensation for an unnecessary surgical procedure, you must prove medical negligence. You need a medical malpractice lawyer to get the medical history of treatment associated with your surgery. Also, they will consider if the recommendation of the surgeon was a negligent decision and your health condition before the surgery. It is also important to consider the standard approaches to treat the condition for which you had the surgery and the chances of this condition to improve or worsen once the procedure is completed. Your lawyer may need to hire a medical witness to access the records and help prove negligence.

If you think you have undergone an unnecessary surgical procedure, call an attorney as soon as possible. A great attorney will help you get the compensation you need and deserve for the harm done to you.