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Anesthesia makes modern surgery possible. It also carries serious risks. When an anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist makes a mistake, the results can include brain injury, stroke, paralysis or death.
What the Anesthesia Team Is Responsible For
The anesthesia team does not perform the surgery. Its job is to keep the patient safe while the surgeon works:
- Before surgery. Review the patient’s medical history, medications, allergies and airway, and plan the anesthesia.
- During surgery. Give the right drugs in the right amounts and continuously monitor breathing, oxygen, heart rate and blood pressure.
- After surgery. Make sure the patient wakes up safely and is monitored in recovery.
Common Anesthesia Errors
- Failing to review the patient’s medical history or allergies
- Giving too much or too little anesthesia
- Failing to monitor oxygen and breathing, or to respond to alarms
- Airway and breathing-tube (intubation) errors
- Leaving the patient unattended
- Avoidable medication and allergic reactions
- Defective or contaminated equipment
Getting Answers
Before almost every surgery, patients are told in an informed consent form that the risks of anesthesia include death. Those outcomes are rare, and when they happen, families deserve to know why. We help clients find out whether the injury was an unavoidable risk or the result of a mistake. These cases require lawyers who understand the medicine and have access to qualified anesthesia experts.
Pennsylvania Rules You Should Know
- Two-year deadline. A malpractice suit generally must be filed within two years of when the patient knew, or reasonably should have known, of the injury and its cause. Special rules can apply to children and to deaths. Do not wait to get advice.
- Certificate of Merit. Your lawyer must certify that a qualified medical professional reviewed the case and found the care likely fell below accepted standards and caused the harm. It is filed with the complaint or within 60 days after.
- Expert testimony is required. The expert generally must practice in the same or a substantially similar specialty as the provider being sued.
- No cap on compensatory damages. Pennsylvania does not limit what a jury can award for medical expenses, lost earnings, and pain and suffering.
Related Cases We Handle
Talk to a Malpractice Lawyer
Every case starts with a conversation with a lawyer, not an intake clerk. If the facts and injuries support a closer look, we have the medical records reviewed by an appropriate physician before you commit to anything. Our medical malpractice cases are handled by Noah Fardo and Bill Rogel.
Call 412-802-6666 or email Managing Partner Noah Fardo at npf@pghfirm.com. Prefer to text? Use 412-855-5511. More answers: Medical Malpractice FAQ.
There is no fee unless we obtain a monetary recovery. We advance the case costs and are reimbursed from the client’s share only if we are successful. General information only, not legal advice. Past results do not guarantee a similar outcome.











