When a patient undergoes a surgical procedure, an unexpected outcome can be a nerve or skin injury caused by improper positioning. The surgical team is responsible for ensuring that the patient is positioned in such a way that there is not excessive pressure on any particular part of the body and a nerve is not stretched to the point of injury.
It is not uncommon for a patient who undergoes surgery or any invasive procedure to develop an infection. Although operating rooms are meant to provide a sterile field for a surgery, there are many ways in which a bacterial organism can invade the body through an opening.
That question is currently being asked in a courtroom in Kitsap County. Intuitive Surgical, the maker of the da Vinci surgical system, is defending itself from accusations that it isn’t safe when the company’s profits drive surgeons and hospitals to use it without proper training.
All medical negligence attorneys deal with cases in which a surgical error or mistake caused great injury or even death. The difficulty is in proving that the surgeon was negligent. The mere fact of a bad outcome does not establish negligence, and the burden is on the claimant to present expert testimony that the surgeon was negligent in causing the injury.
