Most surgical procedures are carried out with the aid of some
type of anaesthesia in order to reduce or prevent pain
during the operation, this is
always adminstered to the patient by a trained
anaesthetist. There are two types of anaethestic; general,
whereby the patient is made unconscious; and Local, where the
area of the body being treated is numbed.
A significant proportion of claims arise from
anaesthetic blunders ranging from minor procedures such as removal
of a mole and major operations such as brain or cardiac
surgery.
On occasion patients are not given sufficient
anaesthesia causing the patient to feel pain. Sometimes brain
damage occurs because of failure to intubate (keep the airways
open).
Unfortunately, nerve injuries are common place
as a result of negligent damage caused by injections, epidurals and
nerve blocks.
We have extensive experience in acting for
patients who have been the victims of medical mishaps due to
substandard care and treatment by the anaesthetist or by reason of
equipment failure or because of inappropriate treatment in
intensive care.