Surgical Burns Due To New York Medical Malpractice: What Happens!

Medical Malpractice Mistakes

When we think of surgical mistakes and errors, we almost certainly don’t think of FIRE!  But unfortunately, surgical burns caused by fires is a real and serious complication with some surgeries.  In fact, fires do not even need to occur to cause very serious surgical burns.

One of the most common way that surgical burns occur is when there are surgical fires during a procedure.  There are very flammable liquids used like alcohol-based sterilizers and other gases during a surgery.  With the cauterizers and other electronic tools, this is a recipe for a fire.  Throw in the gauzes and other paper/fabric pieces, it can result in very dangerous and large fires.  These fires can cause very serious burns and damage to victims.

Another way that surgical burns occur is due to friction.  Drills bits spin at a high speed.  If the drill bit is spinning and rubbing against a piece of flesh, it can result in very serious injury due to friction burns.  This constant rubbing is very dangerous and debilitating when it is on a nerve, vessel, or other vital structure or tendon.  Friction burns due to surgical tools are very damaging.

Finally, the use of chemicals or spills can cause burns.  Many caustic chemicals are used during surgeries, particularly to sterilize the body or pieces of equipment, which can result in very serious burns to skin or flesh.  This can be very debilitating and even deadly when the chemical burns are inside the patient.