When we go in for surgery, it can be stressful and traumatic. However, just imagine how much worse it would be without the aid of anaesthetic. Anaesthetists are highly qualified doctors and rarely make mistakes, but sometimes they do. Waking up during a surgical procedure or feeling pain because you haven’t been given enough anaesthetic can be extremely painful and highly traumatic. In addition, if too high a dose of anaesthetic is given during a surgical procedure it can lead to permanent nerve or brain injury, which could result in permanent disability.
Anaesthesia
There are two types of anaesthetic given to patients during surgical procedures: general anaesthetic and local anaesthetic. A general anaesthetic is given to patients to put them to sleep so that they have no awareness of the procedure that follows. However, a general anaesthetic requires careful monitoring to ensure a patient does not wake during the procedure or that their health is not damaged because of the anaesthetic drugs.
Local anaesthetic is given to desensitise a particular area so that while a patient is still awake, they can’t feel any pain during the surgery. Sometimes doctors do not use enough local anaesthetic so a patient can still feel pain during a procedure, while in other cases, the actual process of giving the anaesthetic, normally through injection, can cause nerve damage and injury if not done properly.
Medical Negligence
If you undergo a surgical procedure and experience pain or injury due to a mistake by an anaesthetist, you have the right to claim for damages due to medical negligence. Whether you have found yourself awake during an operation, been injured because of too high a dose of anaesthetics or had to endure pain and suffering due to an insufficient dose, you have the right to claim compensation. The effects of an error in anaesthetics can be long lasting and result in severe psychological trauma for many years to come so it is important to seek the help of a personal injury specialist who will be able to assist you with your claim and ensure that you get the recompense you deserve.
