Patients going to the hospital or an outpatient facility for routine surgery aren’t expecting to die on the table. Their families believe they’ll be home in just a few hours and recovering safely. Sadly, that doesn’t always happen. Mistakes can be made, and when they happen, patients could lose their lives.
A $2.5 million lawsuit was filed against Northwest Anesthesia Physicians, who are accused of causing a man’s death in Oregon. According to the news report from Aug. 24, the family of the man is seeking $2.5 million for his death, after he passed away on the surgical table.
The doctor, as well as the anesthesia team, were named in the lawsuit. The documents claim that the 62-year-old man went to the Slocum Orthopedic Surgery Center in 2015 for a surgery. It was considered routine, so there was no expectation of what was to come.
The lawsuit goes on to state that it’s believed the man was brain dead well before the surgery ever even began. It claims a lack of oxygen suffocated him. He died in the hospital three days later.
Speaking on behalf of the family, their attorney stated that the anesthesiologist should have made certain that the man had enough oxygen while in surgery. It’s believed by the family that Northwest Anesthesia Physicians didn’t follow protocol or patient safety rules, leading to the man’s death. In the lawsuit, it states that the man was cyanotic and went into cardiac arrest because of insufficient oxygenation.
Cases like this are devastating and shouldn’t happen. Families need to know that there are ways to obtain compensation for their loss.