What Should You Know About Anesthesia Errors?

While anesthesia errors today are much rarer than they were several decades ago, they still occur. Anesthesiologists have standard practices in place today geared toward preventing patient harm. According to Medscape, the American Society of Anesthesiologists created a program to standardize patient anesthesia care in 1985, called the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation. This program was created as a response to a derogatory report on ABC’s television program 20/20, called "The Deep Sleep: 6,000 Will Die or Suffer Brain Damage."

The latest technology used to safeguard patients involves the use of pulse oximetry (using a device to measure blood oxygen levels) and end tidal carbon dioxide monitors (devices measuring carbon dioxide levels). Incidences of anesthesia-related deaths dropped from one in 10,000 to one in 200,000 within two years of implementing these improved measures.

An English study presented in 2012 to the International Anesthesia Research Society indicated that the most common anesthesia errors today are due to human errors that involve mixed up ampoules (hypodermic bulb containers) or syringes and epidural lines that were mistaken for IV lines.

If you or a loved one suffers injury from or dies because of an anesthesia accident, consult an experienced Manhattan lawyer for legal help. An experienced New York anesthesia accident attorney can help identify errors that may legally be considered medical malpractice — which could lead to a viable pursuit of compensation.

Rich & Rich, P.C.offers a free consultation to discuss your injury or the injury or death of a loved that you believe resulted from an anesthesia error. Call 646.736.3999 to learn how we can help.