Anesthesia Overdoses Leading to Wrongful Death: What Are Your Legal Options?

If you are getting surgery done, then you likely need to get anesthesia, unless it’s relatively minor. If the surgery is minor, you can probably just get a local anesthetic. In these cases, you will remain conscious during the procedure.

If you get put under for surgery, though, this means you have received anesthetic that’s sufficient to render you unconscious for a time. In some instances, people die when they’re under anesthetic. These cases are relatively rare, but they do happen.

If this happens to someone in your family, then you can always talk to a Salt Lake City wrongful death lawyer. Ideally, you should consult an attorney who has prior experience with these types of cases.

Let’s talk about your legal options if a tragedy of this sort occurs.

The Lawyer Will Probably Bring Up the Duty of Care

Generally, the doctor who’s operating on you is not the person who administers the anesthesia. That is the job of a special member of the medical team called an anesthesiologist. They have been trained in how to administer anesthesia and how much is called for in each circumstance.

The administering of anesthesia may not be an exact science. It has reached a point, though, where the person administering it should be able to do so with a great deal of precision.

If someone dies while under anesthesia, and it is thought that the anesthesia itself led to their death, a personal injury lawyer will most likely look at something that the medical industry calls the standard of care. This is a care standard that doctors and other medical personnel are expected to give to each patient.

You Need to Find an Attorney Willing to Represent You

If you go see a personal injury attorney and have a potential wrongful death case, they will likely jump at the chance to represent you, especially if they believe the medical standard of care has been violated. If it has, and there’s abundant evidence that proves it, that makes it likely you can either win your case or that the individual or medical facility you’re suing will settle the matter out of court.

You need to find an attorney who feels that you have a good chance of winning your case, though, based on the evidence you can provide or that their investigators can turn up. If that evidence doesn’t seem to exist, it’s not likely the lawyer will want to take on the case.

Look at the Attorney’s Track Record

If you do find a lawyer who is willing to represent you, that’s great, but you should also take a look at their track record. You are always within your legal right to sue someone, and wrongful death from anesthesia is a situation where it makes sense to do it.

If you’re using a lawyer who tends to lose these types of cases, though, you should definitely go with someone else. You need someone competent with a record of winning personal injury lawsuits.