We are fortunate to have access to world-class medical treatment in Northeast Pennsylvania. However, even in the best facilities, medical professionals can make mistakes that lead to serious harm. When you select a hospital, surgeon, and surgical team to operate, you trust they will treat you with professionalism and the utmost care.
Unfortunately, the surgical team sometimes makes a mistake, which can have devastating, even deadly, consequences for the patient and their family.
If you or a loved one has suffered harm or loss of life from a surgical error in Scranton, it’s important to understand your rights and options under PA personal injury law for holding the responsible parties accountable.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney at the Scranton Law offices of Munley Law can help. Call us for a free case evaluation. We will discuss the specifics of your medical malpractice claim, and together, we will craft the best way forward to make sure you receive the compensation you deserve.
Compensation for Surgical Malpractice in Scranton
You may be entitled to monetary compensation if you or a loved one has experienced harm due to a surgical error in Scranton. This compensation can fall into two categories: Economic and non-economic damages:
Economic Damages
These are measurable financial losses caused by the surgical error, such as:
- Medical Expenses: This includes the cost of additional treatments, surgeries, hospital stays, and rehabilitation necessary to correct the mistake.
- Lost Wages: If you were unable to work due to your injuries, you may recover the income you lost during that time. This can also extend to future lost earnings if the injury affects your ability to work long-term.
- Out-of-Pocket Costs: Travel to medical appointments, medical equipment, and other related expenses are also compensable.
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages compensate you for the more subjective losses you’ve experienced, such as:
- Pain and Suffering: Compensation for the physical pain and emotional distress caused by the error and its aftermath.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: If a surgical procedure error has significantly impacted your ability to enjoy daily activities, you may be entitled to damages for that loss.
- Loss of Consortium: This applies if your relationship with a spouse or family member has been negatively affected by your serious injury.
If you have tragically lost a loved one due to the aftermath of a surgical mistake, you might be entitled to collect damages for lost wages, funeral costs, and more.
Punitive Damages
In rare cases where the healthcare provider’s actions were particularly egregious or reckless, you may also be entitled to punitive damages. These are meant to punish the responsible party, deter future misconduct, and compensate the victim.
Can I Settle for a Lump Sum Payment?
In some cases, you may want to settle a surgical error case for a single lump sum payment. Many medical malpractice cases, including surgical errors, are settled out of court. A lump sum settlement provides a one-time payment that compensates for your medical bills, lost wages, and other damages, allowing you to avoid a potentially lengthy trial.
Talk to your Scranton personal injury lawyer at Munley Law firm about what might be best for your case.
Types of Surgical Errors in Scranton
Wrong Site Surgery
This occurs when the surgeon performs the procedure on the wrong body part. Despite standard protocols like marking
the correct site, mistakes still happen. For example, a doctor may operate on the left knee instead of the right or even remove the wrong organ. Wrong-site surgeries can lead to unnecessary pain and can even require additional surgeries to correct the mistake.
Permanent Nerve Damage/Paralysis
During surgery, a small wrong move with a scalpel or improper technique can cause permanent nerve damage, leading to partial or full paralysis. This is especially common in spinal surgeries or procedures involving areas with many nerves. The damage may result in chronic pain, loss of sensation, or an inability to move certain body parts.
Instruments Left Behind
Leaving surgical instruments, gauze, or sponges happens with alarming frequency. These retained objects can cause severe complications, including infections, internal injuries, or even death if not discovered promptly. Correcting this error typically requires another surgery to remove the foreign object.
Anesthesia Errors
Anesthesia errors can involve dispensing too much or too little anesthesia, and both mistakes have serious consequences.
Giving too much anesthesia can lead to brain damage or death. At the same time, too little can cause anesthesia awareness, where the patient is conscious during surgery but unable to move or communicate.
Anesthesia errors can also include a failure to monitor the patient’s vital signs by the anesthesiologist or other healthcare professionals or intubating the patient improperly, which can result in respiratory failure.
A Scranton Surgical Error Lawyer to Fight for Your Rights
While medical malpractice can take many forms, surgical errors can be among the most serious. In the United States, more than 4,000 preventable surgical mistakes happen each year, causing harm to those patients and their loved ones. Around 60% of these errors result in temporary injuries, while 33% cause permanent damage. Tragically, nearly 7% of these cases lead to the death of the patient.
If you’ve experienced a surgical error in Scranton, your medical malpractice attorney from Munley Law is ready to fight for you. A personal injury attorney who specializes in malpractice law is essential to helping you by:
Proving Liability
One of the toughest parts of a medical malpractice case is demonstrating that the healthcare provider’s medical negligence directly caused your injury. Your lawyer will provide the best legal representation by:
- Gathering Medical Records: We will review your medical history and consult with experts to assess whether the standard of care was breached during your surgery.
- Working with Medical Experts: Munley Law works with a team of experienced medical professionals who can testify about the surgical error and why it deviated from accepted medical care practices.
- Proving Causation: Your attorney will demonstrate clear evidence showing that harm to the patient’s body could have been avoided if your medical team had followed the proper standard of care.
Don’t rely on friends or the internet for legal advice. If you are considering a medical malpractice lawsuit, finding the right attorney-client relationship with a legal expert is essential. Talk to a personal injury attorney at Munley Law’s Scranton Law offices today.
Maximizing Compensation
Once liability is established, our focus shifts to securing the maximum compensation for your injuries by:
- Calculating All Damages: We account for all your damages, including medical costs, pain and suffering, lost income, and future expenses related to your injury.
- Negotiating Settlements: Many malpractice cases are settled by negotiation. We know how to fight for your maximum compensation.
- Trial Representation: If a fair settlement can’t be reached, we go to court and fight for your rights.
Contact the Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Munley Law
If a surgical error in Scranton has injured you, you want the experienced medical malpractice lawyers at Munley Law 
on your side. We are experts in all types of medical malpractice. Your surgeon and medical center’s insurance company will have their lawyers working hard to protect their interests. Make sure you are protected, and your rights are preserved.
If you or a loved one is the victim of medical malpractice, call your Scranton medical malpractice lawyer at Munley Law today for your free consultation.
Don’t let the statute of limitations run down on your medical malpractice claim; call us today about your medical mistake injury case.
Munley Law Personal Injury Attorneys
227 Penn Ave.
Scranton, PA 18503
(570)865-4699
