Administering anesthesia for a procedure, whether it is for a simple hernia operation or for a quadruple cardiac by-pass operation, requires a knowledgeable and careful anesthesiologist or certified registered nurse anesthetist.  A complete pre-anesthetic history and assessment of the patient is important to allow the physician or nurse to be aware of any special conditions that would affect the administration of anesthesia.  Even the patient’s body type is important in terms of intubation as well as whether the patient suffers from sleep apnea. 

 

The medical care provider who administers anesthesia must not only be aware of how to properly anesthetize the particular patient but also how to safely bring the patient out of anesthesia.  The decision of the type of anesthesia to be used, what agents are appropriate, the quantities to be used, are all factors that must be properly analyzed by the anesthesiologist or nurse anesthetist.  Epidural or spinal anesthesia requires the proper placement of the needle to ensure there is no injury to nerves or the spinal cord itself.   Even the positioning of the patient for surgery can be done improperly so as to cause permanent injury.  Failing to administer anesthesia properly can lead to many different types of injury including brain damage or death.  

If you suspect that you were injured or a loved one was injured or died as a result of the administration of anesthesia, retaining Walter G. Alton, Jr., Esq. to investigate your claim, will insure a thorough and careful analysis of the facts and, if indeed, there were departures from good and accepted standards of anesthesia medical practice, an aggressive prosecution of your case.