subject: Burns During Surgery [print this page] If you have sustained an accidental burn during surgery, your injury could be attributed to medical negligence. This means that your surgical team failed to display acceptable standards of skill and expertise, thereby breaching their duty of care towards you. A patient who suffers a burn because of this incompetence will be entitled to make a claim for compensation.
How do burns happen during surgery?
There are a number of ways in which a patient may suffer an accidental burn during surgery, with three of the most common reasons including:-
1. Chemical solutions
During surgery the skin is often wiped with a chemical solution before any sort of incision is made, helping to reduce the possibility of infection. However, it is important the surgical team remain wary of the prepared area, as chemicals such as these are extremely flammable. If the solution is not allowed to dry and a piece of electrical equipment is used, it is possible that a spark will ignite the chemical, burning the skin.
2. Surgical equipment
Throughout the course of an operation the surgeon and his staff will use a wide variety of electrical, thermal and mechanical equipment. A commonplace tool is a diathermy which uses the heat generated by an electrical current to cut tissue or seal blood vessels. However, if this equipment is faulty, is set up in the wrong way (such as incorrectly positioned electrodes) or is not appropriate for the type of operation being performed, a patient could suffer a burn.
3. Poor surgical technique
Like all medical professionals, surgeons have a legal obligation to provide an acceptable level of care towards their patients. This means they must display a standard of competence considered reasonable by a responsible body of medical men. Therefore they must perform the operation with adequate skills and expertise. If they fail to do so - for example, by using a poor technique when applying a diathermy to the skin - a patient will sustain an injury.
Do surgical burns amount to medical negligence?
If you or a loved one suffered a burn during surgery for any of the aforementioned reasons, it may be that the surgeon and/or the NHS Trust are to blame. To ascertain whether or not this is the case, you need to discuss the details of your treatment with a medical negligence solicitor, who will have the necessary knowledge to advise if you have been the victim of a substandard level of medical care. If you have, you will be legally entitled to take legal action against the responsible party, meaning you could be awarded compensation for the damages you have incurred.
