When you undergo surgery, your care doesn’t stop once the procedure is complete. You could have days, weeks, perhaps even months of postoperative care as your body recovers. Poor postoperative care can cause just as much damage as a poorly performed surgery, especially as your body is often in a weakened state after an operation.
If you have experienced postoperative negligence, call the dedicated medical malpractice attorney at the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson today. You may be entitled to compensation, and our knowledgeable team can help you demand the answers and justice you deserve. Schedule your free consultation with our legal team now.
What Is Postoperative Care?
Postoperative care is any treatment or monitoring you receive after you have undergone a surgical procedure. Your doctor’s duty of care doesn’t end when the procedure is over. It’s crucial that doctors and nurses properly monitor you after surgery to make sure you are prescribed the right medications and that there aren’t any complications from the procedure that would result in postoperative negligence.
What Is the Medical Standard of Care?
Any healthcare professional is required to treat you according to what’s known as the medical standard of care. That is, your doctor must act in the same manner as a reasonable doctor with the same level of skill and training would act in a similar situation. If your doctor’s actions fail to meet that standard, the healthcare provider may be liable for harm caused as a result of that negligence. Our postoperative negligence attorney can review your case to determine whether your healthcare provider failed to meet the medical standard of care. We can then advise you of your legal right to pursue compensation for damages.
The Dangers of Postoperative Mistakes
Improper postoperative care can have serious, potentially even fatal consequences. Substandard care can result in infections, which can be deadly themselves, as well as delay your recovery time. A serious infection called sepsis can occur when doctors or nurses aren’t frequently checking vital signs, fail to order blood tests, and do not perform adequate physical examinations.
Another danger of poor postoperative care is blood clots. Because you may have limited mobility for a longer period as you recover in a hospital bed, you’re at a much greater risk of blood clots forming, especially in your legs. Blood clots are particularly common after operations that last longer than 30 minutes, or after orthopedic-related procedures. Blood clots can lead to deep vein thrombosis in the arms or legs and pulmonary embolisms, in which a clot is dislodged and travels to the lung. Embolisms can be fatal.
Other dangers of poor postoperative care include bowel leaks following abdominal surgery of any type, internal hemorrhages, falls, and more.
Types of Postoperative Malpractice Cases We Handle
Our law firm has extensive experience handling postoperative malpractice cases, including:
- Deep vein thrombosis
- Hemorrhage
- Sepsis
- Paralytic ileus
- Bowel leaks
- Falls
Talk to Our Postoperative Negligence Lawyer Now
Poor postoperative care can severely impact your quality of life, potentially negating any benefit of the surgery you have just undergone. We can investigate your case, determine whether there was postoperative malpractice, and help you pursue your rightful compensation.
Our veteran postoperative malpractice attorney at the Law Office of Kelley J. Johnson is standing by to help. We work on a contingency-fee basis, which means you won’t pay us anything unless we win your case. Call our office in Indianapolis today for your free consultation.