Military Anesthesia Error Attorneys

How Do Anesthesia Errors Happen?

An anesthesia error occurs when the wrong amount of anesthesia is administered during a medical procedure like an operation. An error can include administering too much anesthesia or not enough due to a mistake that should have been avoidable. Anesthesia errors can also include failing to monitor the patient after administering anesthesia, improperly inserting the intubation tube, and other technical errors made by an anesthesiologist. 

One study found that 51% of these adverse events because of anesthesia errors were judged to be “highly preventable.” Nearly 5% of patients died as a result and another 13.7% of patients suffered permanent disability. This study discussed several root causes of anesthesia errors:

• Lack of communication – In 70% of cases, there was a lack of communication causing the anesthesia error and 75% of patients died as a result.
• Human-related errors & negligence — “human errors as more common than equipment failure in preventable incidents.” 
• Errors in medication administration — When errors in administration of the medication are involved, the study showed that 24% of the time, it resulted in death of the patient. Common medication errors in anesthesia include mixing up the drugs that are supposed to be provided (drug swaps) or the duplication of drugs or errors of drug dosage, particularly opioids or paracetamol in children.

Consequences of Anesthesia Errors

Anesthesia errors can be extremely dangerous to the patient. Whenever an error occurs, it calls for a thorough investigation into the circumstances to learn what went wrong and why, so it will hopefully never happen again.

Serious consequences of administering too much anesthesia can include:

• Throat and mouth damage
• Nerve damage
• Stroke
• Cardiac arrest
• Brain damage
• Suffocation or oxygen deprivation
• Respiratory failure
• Death

According to one study up to 98,000 patients to die each year as a result of medical errors, with most of these being medication-related.

Can You File Against a Military Hospital?

If you suffered from an anesthesia error at a military hospital, you likely cannot just file an injury claim in pursuit of compensation like you would in most other personal injury situations. Instead, you will likely need to follow the rules set by the FTCA, which our attorneys can help you understand and utilize.

Important FTCA rules that could apply to your anesthesia error case against the U.S. military include:

• Form 95 must be filed before any applicable statutes of limitations expire.
• Form 95 must be completed in its entirety, including a total amount of damages (sum certain).
• Form 95 must be presented within 2 years of accrual of the claim.
• To file a federal lawsuit, you must wait at least 6 months after a Form 95 resolution attempt fails. 

Prepare Your Claim with Us – Call Now

Understanding the cause of your anesthesia error and who is liable is complicated. Filing and handling a Form 95 and FTCA claim involving the U.S. military and federal government is even more work. Get yourself the help you need with every step and process by coming to National Trial Law. Talk with our military anesthesia error attorneys about what happened, so we can explain your legal options with clarity and compassion.

For more information, call our legal team at (833) 913-1885 now.