Traumatic Brain Injuries In Kingston, New York Medical Malpractice Cases: What Are The Common Causes

When people think of brain injuries, they think of something traumatic like a strike to the head.  Concussions are commonly thought of too, particularly with all of the conversation swirling around the NFL right now.  Anything that involves a strike to the head or contact with the head is what we think of when we think of brain injuries.

But this is not necessarily what a traumatic brain injury in a medical malpractice lawsuit will look like.  Brain injuries can also come due to lack of oxygen, or a hypoxic injury.  This is the lack of oxygen to the brain, which is very dangerous and devastating because the brain is very sensitive and needs a strong, steady supply of oxygen.

As a result, the most common types of New York medical malpractice resulting in a traumatic brain injury simply do not involve traumatic strikes to the head.  While certainly some cases do involve trauma to the head, like a fall off the gurney or bed, or a machine like an x-ray machine falling onto the patient, this is more rare in the medical malpractice field.

The most common causes of traumatic brain injuries in medical malpractice cases involve the following:

• Cerebral palsy as a birth injury;
• Complications from general anesthesia such as an overdose or failing to provide oxygen into an airway;
• Surgical errors damaging the lungs or throat;
• Medication errors;
• PCA pump failures;
• Compression of the nose or throat during a surgery which slows oxygen;
• Failure to monitor, recognize, and treat low blood pressure;
• Extreme and unmanaged blood loss during a procedure; and
• Many other cases.