The medical field relies upon scientific and technological advances to keep patients safe and keep healthcare costs low. One recent trend in hospitals across the United States is robotic surgery, in which a giant robot, such as the Da Vinci model, performs the actual surgery while controlled by a doctor across the room. These robotic techniques are most often used for routine hysterectomies, prostate removals, gallbladder removal, gastric bypass, and coronary artery bypass. The goal of robotic surgery techniques is to reduce the risk of human error, as robot hands do not shake like the hands of a fatigued or stressed surgeon. Furthermore, experts claim patients have faster recovery time and less risk of infections with these procedures.
While most robotic procedures are successful and without incident, some patients have suffered unexpected injuries during this type of surgery. If you have suffered injury because of a robotic surgical errors, you deserve to receive compensation from the hospital and should contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney in Philadelphia as soon as possible.
The most common injuries caused by robotic surgical equipment include:
- Nicked blood vessels
- Tears or burns in the intestines
- Torn bowels
- Organ punctures
In some more rare cases, a large robotic arm has hit the unconscious patient in the face and one robot arm grasped a patient’s colon and would not let go until doctors did a complete, lengthy reboot of the robot. Many patients who have suffered injury suffer serious discomfort and require substantial treatment for the unexpected injury. Court claims against hospitals and robotic equipment manufacturers have been on the rise for years, prompting the Food and Drug Administration to investigate into the safety of these procedures.
Even though robots are supposed to improve accuracy and eliminate human error from surgery, doctors still control the robots, mistakes still happen, and patients get injured. Recovering from surgery is difficult enough without having to worry about treating additional injuries, and you deserve to receive a fair settlement for your suffering and financial losses.