Improper Intubation

While intubation can be a life-saving medical procedure, even the slightest error made during the process can end up having severe and even fatal consequences. If you have been injured due to an intubation error that you believe constituted a medical mistake, you might be able to recover money damages for your injury. Our dedicated Baltimore medical malpractice lawyers realize how devastating a medical mistake can be on a physical, financial, and emotional level. Medical malpractice cases are time sensitive, which is precisely why it is important to act quickly if you plan to pursue a legal claim after your injury.

Intubation refers to a medical procedure that saves lives every day by offering an airway for patients to breathe through. Intubation typically takes place when people are preparing to undergo surgery, after an accident, or in any instance when an individual needs assistance breathing. If a doctor fails to intubate a patient in need, or does so incorrectly, the patient’s oxygen levels will often become insufficient. The patient will then suffer from oxygen deprivation leading to mild-to-severe brain injuries, permanent disability, or in the worst cases, death. Intubation mistakes can take place in many ways, such as:

• Failure to place the tube into the esophagus;
• Failure to evaluate the patient’s airways needs;
• Staff being unprepared;
• Failure to act within the appropriate time frame;
• Not realizing that an intubation error has occurred even though there are clear signs;
• Damage resulting from too much force during intubation; or
• The tube being disconnected or dislodged.

Whatever the reason for their occurrence, intubation errors can lead to serious harm. If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to improper intubation, you may be able to recover compensation through a medical malpractice claim, and a skilled medical negligence lawyer can assist you.

It is important to understand that a mistake alone does not render a doctor liable for malpractice. Rather, medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes injury by deviating from the applicable standard of care. The standard of care is a legal term that refers to the level of competence that a medical professional in the same specialty would have used in the same or a similar situation. In order to prove medical malpractice, the patient bears the burden of proving the following: a doctor-patient relationship existed; the medical professional breached the standard of care; and that breach was a direct cause of the patient’s injury.

In almost all medical malpractice cases, the standard of care is established by expert testimony. The expert is typically a medical professional who specializes in the same area of medicine as the defendant. For instance, if the defendant in an improper intubation case is an ER doctor, the expert will typically be an ER doctor as well. The expert witness provides testimony as to the standard of care in the case and how the defendant doctor deviated from it.

Once medical malpractice is established, a patient may be able to recover a variety of damages including, but not limited to: medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, rehabilitation costs, and any other losses arising from the malpractice. In cases where you have a lost a loved one due to improper intubation or another form of medical malpractice, you may be entitled to wrongful death damages, such as funeral and burial costs, medical expenses incurred prior to the decedent’s death, and loss of companionship.

If you or someone you know has been injured by an intubation error that was caused by a medical mistake in the Baltimore area, we may be able to help. At Arfaa Law Group, our seasoned medical injury attorneys are committed to holding negligent medical professionals accountable and helping victims pursue the costs incurred as a result of the injury. We will thoroughly investigate what happened in your case and help you understand your legal options. To speak to us in more detail about your case, call us at 410-889-1850 or contact us online.