Laser Spine Surgery Malpractice

Many people feel considerable back pain as a result of a herniated disc or other spinal problems. Laser spine surgeries are often marketed as safer procedures than open or traditional surgeries are. In a traditional surgery, the incision goes through skin to muscle and there is a risk of damaging soft tissues. However, laser spine surgery is not useful for every condition. When you undergo surgery, you trust that you will be treated in a professional manner according to accepted medical standards and practices. Unfortunately, laser spine surgeons do make mistakes and may behave negligently or recklessly. If you were harmed as a result of negligence related to laser spine surgery, you may be able to recover damages with the assistance of a Syracuse medical malpractice attorney.

Unlike traditional surgery, laser spinal surgeries are considered to be minimally invasive. In a laser spine surgery, a smaller incision is used than in an open surgery. A tool is used to get to the place in the spine that is in pain. The muscles do not need to be moved, which means there’s less pain after the surgery and the recovery time is usually shorter. Sometimes, however, a laser surgery is inadequate such that you’ll need another surgery afterward. There may also be significant pain from back instability. The use of a laser during spinal surgery can restrict nerve damage, but it can also inflict tissue and other damage.

Lasers or straight beams of light used in spine surgeries and are often touted as being less invasive than other methods. However, there are situations in which a laser can’t navigate angles appropriately in order to address a specific problem in the spine. There are also situations in which heat is transmitted in a laser surgery that damages nerves around the spine. There are also situations in which a laser spine surgeon inadvertently enters below a desired depth of penetration and causes damage.

When a back problem is more complicated, traditional surgery rather than laser spine surgery may be needed.

Not every mistake made in connection with laser spine surgery counts as medical malpractice. However, sometimes when a health care provider’s error causes harm it’s important to find out whether you have a viable claim. In order to hold a surgeon or other health care provider liable for malpractice, you’ll need to show: (1) you were owed a professional duty of care, (2) the provider breached the professional duty of care owed, (3) causation, and (4) damages. You’ll have to show by a preponderance of the evidence that but for the health care provider’s breach of the duty of care, you likely wouldn’t have gotten injured. A knowledgeable medical negligence attorney can help you present your case.

New York law also allows recovery of damages in cases where informed consent wasn’t obtained. Before a doctor performs laser spine surgery on you, she should advise you of any material risks that a reasonably prudent provider would have disclosed. Where informed consent is not obtained prior to the laser spine surgery, the lack of informed consent may constitute medical malpractice.

Damages are usually compensatory in medical malpractice lawsuits, meaning that they are intended to put a plaintiff back in the position she would have been in had there been no malpractice in connection with the laser spine surgery. When a patient dies as a result of laser spine surgery malpractice, it may be possible for family members to recover wrongful death damages.

Laser spine surgery malpractice can result in devastating injuries. If you have been harmed or a loved one was killed due to malpractice arising from laser spine surgery in Syracuse, you can discuss your particular situation with a skillful trial lawyer. DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represents victims of malpractice in Syracuse, Rochester, and throughout Upstate New York, in areas such as Lowville, Ithaca, Canandaigua, Binghamton, Watertown, Cooperstown, Lyons, Elmira, Wampsville, Herkimer, Auburn, Utica, Oneida, and Oswego. Please call us at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.