Post-Operative Hemorrhages

Hemorrhages involve blood escaping from the circulatory system. A post-operative hemorrhage is bleeding that takes place after a surgical procedure. Bleeding after a surgical procedure might not be limited to bleeding that occurs at the surgical opening. Some post-operative hemorrhaging may be the result of problems in ordinary clotting, clips around blood vessels coming undone, or tissues that can’t be stopped from bleeding. If you have suffered a post-operative hemorrhage as a result of a health care provider’s error, you may have grounds to sue for damages. A knowledgeable Syracuse medical malpractice attorney can potentially help you seek damages in a lawsuit.

A post-operative hemorrhage can happen for many different reasons. Post-operative hemorrhaging may be caused by actions or omissions that occurred during a surgical procedure, but may also arise in connection with improper actions after the surgery in connection with wound care. When a surgical procedure is an open procedure, the body needs to be opened to permit the surgeon to access tissues or organs that are subject to operation, and the wound needs appropriate care afterward. If, for example, a surgeon punctures an organ during the surgery, post-operative hemorrhage may occur right away. The nicked organ may hemorrhage during or after the surgery.

Post-operative hemorrhaging may cause serious difficulties for a patient who is sent home. The site of the hemorrhaging can affect how the patient feels as a result of it. Post-operative hemorrhaging connected to the brain could occur inside the brain, but could also happen between the covering over the brain and the brain tissue, or between the brain and the skull. A patient who has a post-operative hemorrhage in the brain may experience numbness, weakness on a side of their body, or difficulties while talking. The patient may have trouble performing the usual activities of living.

When a post-operative hemorrhage is the result of an error by a health care provider, it may be possible for the patient to sue for medical malpractice. To establish liability for a post-operative hemorrhage, you’ll need to show by a preponderance of the evidence each of the following: (1) the defendant owed a professional duty of care, (2) breach of the professional duty of care, (3) causation, and (4) damages. For example, it may be a breach of the professional duty of care to puncture an organ during surgery and fail to fix the problem while the surgical site is still open.

In most cases, it is necessary to retain a credible expert on the questions of what the professional standard of care was in connection with the post-operative hemorrhage, how that professional standard of care was breached as it relates to the hemorrhage, and causation. Usually, the expert in a post-operative hemorrhage case will be a licensed professional in the same area of medicine as the defendant. For example, if a surgeon punctured an organ causing post-operative hemorrhage, your expert will likely be a licensed surgeon as well. A seasoned medical malpractice lawyer can help you find an appropriate expert for your case.

Compensatory damages that may be recovered for a post-operative hemorrhage include both economic losses and noneconomic losses that arise from the patient’s injuries, including medical costs, lost wages, and pain and suffering. If a patient dies as a result of a post-operative hemorrhage caused by a health care provider’s negligence, it may be possible to recover damages by bringing a wrongful death lawsuit, and damages in this sort of lawsuit can include funeral and burial costs.

If you were harmed or a loved one died because of a post-operative hemorrhage in Syracuse, you may be able to recover damages by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. The trial lawyers of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano represent patients harmed by of medical malpractice in Syracuse, Rochester, and throughout Upstate New York including in communities such as Canandaigua, Binghamton, Cooperstown, Ithaca, Auburn, Lyons, Elmira, Wampsville, Utica, Herkimer, Oneida, Lowville, Oswego, and Watertown. Call our firm at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.