If you make the life-altering decision to undergo a major operation, it goes without saying that you have complete trust in your surgeon. Indeed, you trust in their abilities, you trust in their medical knowledge, and you trust in their communicating all pertinent information.

As such, when the unthinkable happens and you suffer significant — or even permanent — bodily harm due to a surgical error, you and your family will likely experience a host of very strong emotions, including perhaps a strong sense of betrayal.

By way of illustration, consider the hypothetical scenario of a patient who decided to undergo spinal surgery after what she believed to be a thorough consultation with her surgeon.

However, something goes terribly wrong during the procedure and she is left partially paralyzed. Later, she discovers that her surgeon not only failed to outline the elevated risk of paralysis, but also failed to discuss a safer, nonsurgical alternative.

Here, this patient has the right to feel outraged at these omissions on the part of her surgeon, as learning about either the risks or the nonsurgical alternative could have been enough to convince her to pass on the procedure altogether.

She also has the right to consider speaking with an experienced legal professional who can help uncover what went wrong during the procedure and what information should have been shared by the surgeon.

At Richards & Richards LLP, we have significant experience representing clients who have suffered devastating spinal cord injuries, thanks to the failure on the part of their surgeon to secure what is known as informed consent. We also have experience handling those cases where medical negligence on the part of the surgeon — whether due to a surgical error or inadequate training — is to blame for the spinal trauma.

We understand your anger, your sadness, your anxiety and your need for justice when the actions of a negligent surgeon have left you with a potentially life-altering condition. To learn more about how we can help in these situations, please visit our website.