What Happens If A Surgeon Makes A Mistake?

Surgery is stressful even when everything goes right. When a surgeon makes a mistake, it can leave you dealing with unexpected pain, a longer recovery, new complications, or even another surgery. You might also feel stuck because you don’t know what happened in the operating room, and the answers you’re getting feel unclear.

This blog explains what can happen next, what steps patients often take, and when a surgical mistake may turn into a medical malpractice case.

What Counts as a Surgical Mistake?

A surgical mistake is a preventable error that happens before, during, or after a procedure. Some mistakes are obvious. Others only show up later through symptoms or medical records.

Common examples include:

• Performing the wrong procedure
• Operating on the wrong site or wrong body part
• Leaving a sponge or tool inside the body
• Damaging a nearby organ, nerve, or blood vessel
• Infection caused by poor surgical technique or poor follow-up care

Not every bad outcome is a mistake. Some complications are known risks. The key issue is whether the care fell below what should have been done.

Why Do Surgical Mistakes Happen?

Mistakes can happen for different reasons, including:

• Breakdowns in communication between staff
• Rushed decision-making
• Poor planning before surgery
• Failing to follow safety steps like site checks and time-outs
• Fatigue or understaffing

These are not excuses. But understanding the cause can help explain how a preventable error may occur.

What Happens Medically if a Surgeon Makes a Mistake?

The medical impact depends on the type of error, but here are common outcomes patients face:

1. Recovery takes much longer than expected

You may have lingering pain, swelling, weakness, or loss of function well beyond the normal healing timeline.

2. New symptoms appear after surgery

Examples include numbness, severe pain in a new area, loss of mobility, or symptoms that do not match the procedure you expected.

3. You may need additional procedures or corrective surgery

A second surgery may be needed to repair damage, remove retained items, treat infection, or correct a wrong procedure.

4. Infection or sepsis becomes a risk

Some infections are treatable, but others can lead to serious complications, hospital stays, or long-term health problems.

5. Permanent harm can occur

Some mistakes lead to lasting disability, chronic pain, or changes that affect daily life and work.

What Happens Legally if a Surgeon Makes a Mistake?

A mistake does not automatically mean malpractice. For a malpractice claim, the issue is usually whether:

• The surgeon owed a duty of care
• The surgeon failed to meet the standard of care
• That failure caused harm
• The patient has damages like costs, lost income, or long-term limitations

Surgical cases often come down to records and medical review.

How Do You Know if the Mistake was a Known Risk or Negligence?

A useful way to think about it is this:

• Known risk: The complication can happen even with proper care, and the team responded appropriately.
• Negligence: Something preventable happened, such as the wrong procedure, a missed safety step, or poor monitoring, and it caused harm.

If your explanation feels vague, or if your records don’t match what you agreed to, it may deserve a closer look.

What Should You Do if You Think a Surgeon Made a Mistake?

Here are practical steps that can help:

Step 1: Get medical care for urgent symptoms

If you have chest pain, breathing trouble, high fever, severe swelling, heavy bleeding, or worsening pain, seek medical help right away.

Step 2: Request your full surgical records

Ask for:

• The consent form
• Operative report
• Anesthesia records
• Recovery room notes
• Discharge paperwork

These records can show what was planned and what actually happened.

Step 3: Write down your timeline

Document what you were told before surgery, what symptoms started after, and what follow-up care was involved. Keep it simple and dated.

Step 4: Get a second opinion

A new doctor can review your imaging, diagnosis, and procedure choice. This can help confirm whether the surgery matched your condition and whether any complications make sense.

Step 5: Talk to a lawyer if the harm is serious

If you needed another surgery, lost function, suffered an infection, or believe a wrong procedure occurred, legal guidance can help you understand your options. A lawyer can also help gather records, arrange medical review, and make sure key deadlines are not missed. If your surgeon performed the wrong procedure, contact a wrong procedure lawyer to help you.

Ready to Get Answers?

If you’re dealing with a rough recovery and you think something went wrong in the operating room, you don’t have to guess. Reach out to Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. We can review the details, explain what the records show, and help you decide what steps make sense from here.