In addition to assistance from various technicians, specialists, and other medical personnel, surgeons make use of numerous tools and pieces of medical equipment during the average operation. Unfortunately, it is more common than many might think for a reckless or careless surgeon to conclude a procedure and suture up their incisions with one of those tools still inside their patient’s body.
Injuries caused by foreign objects left behind during surgery can have long-lasting and painful consequences, as any experienced surgical malpractice attorney knows all too well. If you fell victim to this form of medical negligence recently, having help from an experienced Washington, DC foreign objects left in patients attorney could be crucial to protecting your best interests and effectively pursuing the compensation you deserve.
Most of the time, the most procedurally challenging part of a malpractice claim is identifying exactly how a defendant healthcare provider violated a standard of care and directly linking their misconduct to preventable harm sustained by a patient. When a foreign object is left in a patient’s body during surgery, there is rarely any question about whether a standard of care was breached or not but proving that a patient’s injuries and subsequent losses stemmed directly from that foreign object’s presence can require extensive medical documentation and other forms of evidence.
If a patient in Washington, DC can show that a surgeon or technician leaving a foreign object inside their body was the direct and primary cause of harmful medical conditions like infections, soft tissue injuries, and avoidable physical pain, they could demand financial restitution for every loss they experienced because of those conditions. Recoverable damages in a case like this may include:
Punitive damages may also be available in situations involving especially egregious negligence or deliberate fraud by a defendant to obscure their own misconduct.
At least 90 days prior to formally filing suit over any kind of medical malpractice, including cases based around injuries caused by foreign objects in a patient’s body, a plaintiff in Washington, DC must notify their prospective defendant(s) of their intentions or have their malpractice lawyer do so on their behalf. This rule is codified in District of Columbia Code §16-2802, and D.C. Code §16-2083 allows a maximum 90-day extension to the applicable statutory filing deadline if compliance with this rule makes such an extension necessary.
On that note, D.C. Code §12-301 limits most prospective malpractice plaintiffs to just three years after their cause of action accrues to start taking legal action. However, the “discovery rule” allows this deadline to be paused until a plaintiff actually discovers their injuries in some situations—an exception that very often applies in cases involving foreign objects left in a patient’s body.
Any surgical implement or tool being left in a patient’s body after a surgery can have debilitating repercussions for the affected individual. Even though this may seem like a textbook case of medical negligence, though, recovering comprehensively for the effects of this kind of malpractice can still be a difficult endeavor without a qualified legal professional’s assistance.
A Washington, DC foreign objects left in patients attorney could provide much-needed guidance and support throughout every step of your legal proceedings. Call today to learn more.
