Anesthesiologists in Kentucky hospitals literally have the power of life and death. One wrong move, one misjudgment, one lapse in attention, and the patient may die.
Because of this grave responsibility (excuse the pun), you’d think that anesthesiology mistakes rarely occur; that, however, is not the case. Anesthesia errors are the basis of myriad U.S. medical malpractice claims, and a recent study found that about half of them could have been prevented if equipment had been used correctly. Simply by following manufacturers’ directions and industry recommendations for equipment use, injuries and deaths could be prevented.
What Anesthesia Errors Occur?
The most common factor in cases of anesthesia error is carelessness or negligence. Other than not using equipment correctly, mistakes include the following:
- giving an overdose;
- administering a medication to which the patient is allergic;
- failing to make sure that the patient is clear on pre-anesthesia instructions, such as not eating or drinking; and
- failing to consider other medications the patient is taking that may interact with the anesthesia.
Quoting Uncle Ben from Spiderman, “With great power comes great responsibility.” If I held such power of life and death in my hands, I’d probably be a stressed-out insomniac; I would surely check and double-check and triple-check every setting for every machine; every measure of medication; and each patient’s wrist band against his or her chart.
Shouldn’t every anesthesiologist?
Anesthesia errors can damage lives. If you’ve been a victim of any Kentucky medication mistakes, call Gray and White Law at 502-210-8942 or toll free at 800-634-8767. You can set up a FREE, no-obligation consultation.