When Surgery Goes Wrong: Common Operating Room Errors that Lead to Malpractice Claims

By Hendrickson Law | Medical Malpractice Attorneys for Patients and Families

Surgery always carries risk. But when that risk turns into reality because of avoidable mistakes in the operating room, it can change a patient’s life forever—or end it. At Hendrickson Law, we’ve seen firsthand how surgical errors cause devastating harm and long-term suffering. These aren’t just “bad outcomes.” They’re often the result of negligence.

If you or a loved one has experienced complications after surgery and something doesn’t feel right, it’s important to understand what constitutes malpractice—and how to protect your rights.

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What Counts as a Surgical Error?

A surgical error is any preventable mistake that occurs during surgery and deviates from the accepted standard of care. While no surgery is without inherent danger, not every injury is “just one of those things.” When a surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurse, or tech fails to follow proper protocol, the results can be catastrophic.

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Top Operating Room Errors That Lead to Malpractice Claims

1. Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure, or Wrong Patient

Despite the availability of pre-op checklists and safeguards, “never events” still occur:

• Operating on the wrong body part

• Performing the wrong procedure

• Performing surgery on the wrong patient entirely

These are shocking errors, but they happen more often than hospitals would like to admit.

2. Nerve Injury

Improper positioning, careless cutting, or lack of anatomical awareness can lead to permanent nerve damage. Common nerve injuries in surgery include:

• Spinal accessory nerve (shoulder dysfunction)

• Femoral or sciatic nerve (leg weakness or paralysis)

• Hypoglossal nerve (tongue deviation, speech/swallowing issues)

Nerve injuries can result in lifelong disability and are often due to careless surgical technique or misidentification of structures.

3. Retained Surgical Instruments

It’s hard to imagine, but surgical teams sometimes leave sponges, tools, or pieces of equipment inside the patient. This can lead to infection, internal injury, or even death.

These cases are nearly always clear malpractice—but hospitals may deny responsibility until forced to admit it.

💉 4. Anesthesia Errors

Errors in anesthesia—such as over-sedation, under-sedation, or failure to monitor breathing and vital signs—can cause brain damage, heart failure, or death. Anesthesiologists and nurse anesthetists must be vigilant throughout the procedure.

5. Failure to Monitor and Respond

The surgeon might be competent, but the rest of the OR team must monitor for:

• Drops in oxygen saturation

• Blood pressure changes

• Internal bleeding or complications

• Unusual reactions to medication

Delayed recognition of surgical complications can be just as deadly as making a mistake during the procedure itself.

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Common Surgeries Where Errors Occur

While errors can happen in any operation, we often see surgical malpractice in the following:

• Gallbladder removal (cholecystectomy) – bile duct injuries

• Spinal surgery – nerve or spinal cord trauma

• Orthopedic procedures – wrong-site surgeries or post-op infections

• Cesarean sections – delayed delivery or organ injury

• Heart and vascular surgery – mismanaged bleeding or stroke risk

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Real People, Real Harm

We’ve represented clients who were told their complications were “just a risk of surgery”—only to uncover gross negligence:

• A patient who lost use of her arm after a routine shoulder scope

• A man left with permanent bowel damage from a nicked intestine

• A mother whose C-section was delayed despite signs of fetal distress

These are not acceptable outcomes. These are failures.

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What to Do If You Suspect a Surgical Error

If your recovery hasn’t gone as expected—or if you were never informed of certain risks—you should:

1. Request your full operative and post-op records

2. Document your symptoms, timeline, and conversations

3. Get a second medical opinion to determine if the injury was preventable

4. Consult a medical malpractice attorney with experience handling surgical claims

At Hendrickson Law, we work with board-certified surgical experts to evaluate every case. If your injury was preventable, we’ll build the case to prove it.

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⚖️ Surgical Malpractice Isn’t Just About Compensation—It’s About Accountability

When a hospital or surgeon cuts corners, covers up a mistake, or refuses to take responsibility, someone has to step up. That’s where we come in.

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📞 Think You Were a Victim of Surgical Malpractice?

Call Hendrickson Law today at (314) XXX-XXXX or visit www.hendricksonlaw.com for a free consultation.

We fight for patients—because hospitals should never be allowed to hide what went wrong.