Medical malpractice in New York is when a healthcare worker provides treatment or advice that harms or injures a patient. You might have a medical malpractice claim if you’ve suffered because of negligent healthcare. Medical malpractice isn’t limited to the operating room, but there are surgical errors that lead to medical malpractice claims.
Foreign objects inside body
Surgical tools and other objects have been left inside a patient’s body. During a medical malpractice case, you might hear this referred to as a retained surgical item or a retained foreign object.
Retained objects include sponges, needles and clamps. Larger surgical instruments have also been left inside of the bodies of patients.
For example, a 36-year-old woman had surgical forceps inside her body for three years. The forceps were discovered after the woman defecated part of the tool during a bowel movement. An x-ray later revealed the surgical forceps inside the woman’s abdomen.
The medical community now has procedures to reduce the risk of retained foreign objects. These procedures include counting surgical instruments before and after surgery and using imaging techniques to check the body for retained objects.
Wrong-site surgery
Wrong-site surgery is when a surgical procedure is done on the wrong patient or on the wrong part of the body. It also occurs if the wrong surgical procedure is done on the correct patient. Wrong-site surgery is one of the most serious forms of medical malpractice because it puts a patient’s safety at great risk.
To make a medical malpractice claim, you must have proof that the injury or harm was caused by negligent healthcare. In New York, the statute of limitations for filing a medical malpractice claim is two years and six months from the time of injury. In the event of a foreign object inside the body, you must file the claim within one year of discovering the object.