Medical Malpractice Attorney in San Francisco, California

Can you tell us about a memorable anesthesia injury case you handled?

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Many years ago, the attorney handled an anesthesia malpractice case involving a patient undergoing a procedure on his larynx. The patient, a long-time smoker, had developed scar tissue in his airway. To address this, doctors use a laser through an endotracheal tube to remove the tissue.

In this particular case, the anesthesiologist used 100% oxygen during the procedure, which is highly dangerous. The standard practice in such cases is to use no more than 40% oxygen. There is an old adage: “fires feed on oxygen,” and in this instance, the combination of high oxygen levels and a laser led to a catastrophic fire in the patient’s airway. The explosion burned his lungs severely. The patient survived for a year but ultimately died from an overwhelming infection due to his inability to clear mucus. His lungs and cilia were destroyed in the fire, making it impossible for him to breathe properly.

This was an intraoperative fire caused by anesthesia malpractice, and the consequences were tragic. The case also involved a large government lien, but ultimately, the family was compensated. It was an unfortunate, devastating instance of malpractice that could have been avoided.

San Francisco, CA medical malpractice attorney Jeff Mitchell tells the story of a memorable anesthesia injury case you handled. Many years ago, the attorney had a case involving anesthesia malpractice. The patient in question was undergoing a procedure on his larynx, and due to his history of smoking, scar tissue had developed in his airway. To address this, a laser was used through an endotracheal tube to remove the scar tissue.

In such procedures, anesthesiologists typically use a mixture of up to 40 percent oxygen along with rare gases to minimize fire risk. However, in this particular case, the anesthesiologist inadvertently used 100 percent oxygen while employing a tool with flame-like properties, resulting in a fire and explosion within the patient’s airway and lungs.

The patient suffered extensive lung damage, which severely impacted his ability to clear mucus, ultimately leading to an overwhelming infection. Despite surviving for a year following the incident, he eventually succumbed to the infection due to the destruction of his lung tissue and cilia.

This case constituted an intraoperative fire incident caused by anesthesia malpractice, resulting in significant harm. The family of the patient had to contend with a substantial government lien, but ultimately, the case was resolved favorably for them. Nevertheless, the incident was a tragic and avoidable consequence of malpractice.

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