Were You Harmed by a Surgical Error in Los Angeles? We Can Help.
You trusted your surgeon with your life, and a preventable mistake left you facing additional surgeries, mounting medical bills, and a longer, harder recovery. Surgical errors are far more common than most patients realize. Researchers estimate that more than 4,000 surgical "never events" (mistakes that should never happen) occur in the United States every year, and intraoperative errors are believed to be the primary issue in 75% of malpractice cases involving surgeons.
If you or a loved one was injured by a negligent surgeon, the experienced surgical errors attorney team at Cohen & Marzban is ready to investigate what went wrong and pursue the full compensation you deserve.
How Our Los Angeles Surgical Errors Attorneys Can Help
Proving a surgical error claim takes far more than showing that something went wrong. Hospitals and their insurers have teams of lawyers and expert witnesses ready to protect them, and you need an experienced advocate who knows how to fight back. Here is how our experienced surgical errors attorneys team builds your case:
- Investigating what happened: We obtain and analyze your complete medical records, operative reports, and imaging to identify exactly where your care went wrong.
- Consulting medical experts: We work with qualified surgeons and specialists who can testify that your provider breached the accepted standard of care.
- Calculating the full value of your claim: We account for current and future medical costs, lost income, and non-economic damages so nothing is left on the table.
- Handling the insurers: We manage every communication and negotiation, protecting you from lowball offers and tactics designed to reduce your recovery.
- Taking your case to trial: When a fair settlement is not offered, we are fully prepared to present your case to a jury.
From your free consultation through final resolution, we handle the legal burden so you can focus on your recovery.
What Causes Surgical Errors
Most surgical errors are preventable and stem from breakdowns in judgment, communication, or hospital systems rather than genuine accidents. Understanding the root cause is often key to proving negligence. The most common causes we uncover include:
- Surgeon fatigue and long shifts: Exhausted surgeons and staff are more likely to make critical mistakes during a procedure.
- Poor communication: Miscommunication among the surgical team about the patient, procedure, or site is a leading cause of "never events."
- Inadequate preoperative planning: Failing to review a patient's history, imaging, or medications can lead to preventable complications.
- Insufficient staffing or training: Understaffed operating rooms and undertrained personnel increase the risk of errors and oversights.
- Rushed procedures: Pressure to move quickly and increase surgical volume can cause providers to skip essential safety checks.
- Neglecting established protocols: Skipping surgical timeouts, instrument counts, and standard safety procedures puts patients in danger.
Whatever the cause, our attorneys work with medical experts to pinpoint exactly where the standard of care broke down.
Common Types of Surgical Errors We Handle
As a dedicated team of skilled surgical error lawyers, we represent patients across Los Angeles who were harmed by avoidable mistakes before, during, and after surgery. The most common surgical errors we see include:
Many surgical injuries are not obvious right away, which is why we encourage anyone who suspects an error to seek a second medical opinion and preserve all records as soon as possible.
When Does a Surgical Error Become a Legal Claim
Not every poor surgical outcome is malpractice, and a surgical error attorney must prove specific legal elements before you can recover compensation. To build a successful claim, our attorneys work to establish each of the following:
- Duty of care: A doctor-patient relationship existed, and the surgeon owed you a professional duty of care.
- Breach of the standard of care: The surgeon acted negligently, meaning their care fell below what a reasonably competent surgeon would have provided under similar circumstances.
- Causation: That breach directly caused your injury, rather than a known risk or your underlying condition.
- Damages: You suffered actual harm, such as additional surgeries, lost income, or permanent disability, as a result.
Surgical error cases are complex and heavily contested by hospitals and their insurers. Detailed medical records and credible expert testimony are essential, which is exactly the kind of evidence our experienced legal team knows how to gather and present.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Surgical Error
Liability for a surgical injury is not always limited to the surgeon who performed the operation. Our surgical error attorneys investigate every potential source of recovery, including:
- The operating surgeon, when negligence during the procedure caused your harm;
- The anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist, for medication and monitoring errors;
- Surgical nurses and support staff, for incorrect counts or failure to follow protocol;
- The hospital or surgical center, for understaffing, inadequate training, or systemic safety failures;
- A medical device manufacturer, if defective surgical equipment contributed to your injury.
Identifying every responsible party is key to maximizing your compensation, especially in cases involving catastrophic injuries that exceed a single provider's policy limits.
Compensation for Surgical Error Victims
A surgical error can leave you with lasting physical, emotional, and financial burdens. Our attorneys pursue the full range of damages available under California law, including:
- Medical expenses: Costs for corrective surgeries, hospital stays, medication, and ongoing treatment.
- Lost wages and earning capacity: Compensation for income lost during recovery and reduced ability to work in the future.
- Pain and suffering: Damages for the physical pain and emotional distress you have endured.
- Loss of enjoyment of life: Compensation for the impact your injuries have had on activities you once enjoyed.
- Loss of consortium: Money damages awarded to your spouse for the loss of companionship and support during your recovery.
In cases involving especially egregious conduct, punitive damages may also be available to punish the responsible party.
