For a real nightmare story ask about cases where the wrong patient was operated on.

Medical malpractice, often referred to as med mal, has a variety of things that may be classified as negligence or malpractice. Perhaps the most alarming act is a surgeon operating on the wrong patient. While it might not be particularly original, this is called wrong patient surgery. It goes without saying that this kind of surgery may result in severe injuries or ultimately in a patient’s death.

In cases like this, it is absolutely critical to contact an experienced med mal attorney to represent you. Do not wait to file a med mal lawsuit, as many of the states have changed the statute of limitations to shorten the period of time a patient may file a lawsuit.

How does wrong patient surgery happen in the first place? Typically speaking, it happens due to the negligence or wrongdoing of any medical professional and that includes nurses and doctors. A recent report by the Institute of Medicine shows that wrong patient surgery may happen because of bad or lack of proper communication between the surgical team, the patient and other medical staff.

Other factors also include time pressures or other emergencies in the hospital that the doctor needs to attend to immediately; lack of any preoperative verification process, and no or very few institutional controls and policies.

It goes without saying that the results of wrong patient surgery may be absolutely devastating to the patient both physically and mentally. It’s a tremendous shock to wake up from surgery and find out you got the wrong surgery than what you were expecting when you went in.

You may find yourself missing an internal organ, a limb, riddled with infection from an invasive medical procedure that was not necessary, or faced with serious illness because you got the wrong surgery and what you need done is delayed.

Medical malpractice is an area of the law where you need to speak to a highly skilled med mal attorney to find out what your rights are and what compensation you may be eligible for from the courts. You should understand that not every medical error case will go to court and this is the reason you need to speak to an attorney. If your case has the elements needed to proceed to court (e.g. negligence, recklessness, etc.) then your attorney will assist you in recovering your losses which may include wages, medical bills and pain and suffering.