Providence, Rhode Island Medical Malpractice Blog

When a patient undergoes surgery at a New York hospital, or medical facility, it is the responsibility of that staff to monitor the patient for any sudden changes. Failure to monitor the patient in a proper manner can put that patient unnecessarily at risk, leading to permanent injury and death. Staff should be on the lookout for any sign of a worsened condition such as a drop in heart rate, breathing issues and blood pressure changes.

A malpractice lawsuit filed against a hospital in Sleepy Hollow claims that negligent operating room staff made multiple errors during a simple surgical procedure, leaving a 19-year-old girl with severe brain damage. Apparently the girl had been having pain in her stomach and the procedure was being conducted to see what was causing the pain.

In a recent post, we talked about the concern the Food and Drug Administration expressed over the use of robotic surgeons in relation to surgeon errors. These robotic systems are controlled by surgeons and when a surgeon makes an error in judgment, a routine surgery can become much more complicated. It takes special training and concentration on the part of the surgeon to correctly operate a robotic surgeon. People in Providence may want to examine a robot surgery decision more carefully in the light of the recent action taken against a surgeon.

The surgeon's professional conduct is being questioned after a series of surgeon mistakes were revealed. The surgeon, who contracts with a hospital to conduct kidney removal for donations, was reported to the state's medical board by the hospital in connection with 11 cases involving robotic surgeon mistakes.

The effects that a patient suffers from when surgical errors are made can be quite severe. Some patients experience complications such as infections or a worsened condition while others must deal with additional surgeries, unsightly scarring or even permanent damage to limbs and organs. When a routine surgery takes a turn for the worse in a Providence hospital, it can take patients months or even years to fully recover, if they recover at all.

Surgeons are hoping to decrease the number of errors being made by having a robot surgeon take on more intricate operations. While there is a great deal of benefits associated with robot surgery, there is also concern being expressed that the robot is imperfect. In fact, one research paper author says that more mistakes are made by these mechanical surgeons than people know. He did not give further information but have been 500 problems reported in connection to the robot since the beginning of 2012.

Some of the most popular shows on television have been about young doctors working as interns in a hospital setting. However, the shows often glamorize a job that is grueling and challenging. In reality, interns at Providence hospitals are expected to work long hours with little sleep, avoid making medical errors and provide the best quality of care to their patients. As more attention is being placed on delayed diagnosis, medication errors, and the increasing number of risks to patients, some wonder if the traditional intern program is really effective.

To reduce doctor errors from being made, intern hours were cut down a bit. However a recently published study shows that there are other factors which need to be examined, and which also contribute to the number of mistakes being made. These factors include workloads, lack of communication when doctors turn their patients over to the next physician and loss of valuable medical training.