What Is Neurosurgery?

Neurosurgery refers to the medical specialty concerned with surgical treatments for disorders of the nervous system, including disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Examples of the conditions a neurosurgeon may treat and the procedures they may perform include: Brain lesions and brain tumors Spinal tumors and cancers of the spinal column and spinal nerves Brain lacerations Seizures Aneurysms Spinal degenerative disorders and deformities Abnormal vertebrae Spondylolisthesis (displacement of vertebrae) Spinal cord compression Accessory nerve injury Broken coccyx Neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease Disc degeneration Spinal column reconstruction Surgical treatment of spinal disc herniation, displacement, and bulging discs Disc replacement surgery Spinal fusion surgery Some neurosurgical procedures are highly invasive major surgeries, while others are minimally invasive procedures. In either case, errors made by the neurosurgeon themselves or other members of the care team before, during, or after the procedure may cause a patient significant harm.

Do Neurosurgeons Make Mistakes?

Neurosurgery is a complex and difficult field of medicine. The path to becoming a neurosurgeon, including undergraduate education, medical school, internship, and residency, takes 14 to 16 years of study and training. This extensive preparation is necessary because neurosurgeons operate on some of the most complex and critical parts of the body. As highly trained and well-educated as neurosurgeons are, they’re still only human. It’s absolutely possible for neurosurgeons and the nurses, assistants, and other clinical personnel working in a neurosurgery department to make errors. Unfortunately, even a small mistake can be devastating when it comes to surgical interventions performed on the brain, spinal cord, and other parts of the nervous system. Twenty percent of neurosurgeons in clinical practice in the U.S. are sued for medical malpractice each year, according to a 2020 article published in the American Association of Neurological Surgeons’ journal Neurosurgical Focus. Researchers behind a 2022 study published in the journal Brain and Spine concluded that approximately one in eight neurosurgery patients suffer at least one adverse event due to human error. Twenty-five percent of all patients studied experienced an adverse event, and 25.9% of those events were attributable to human errors.

How Much Is a Neurosurgery Medical Malpractice Claim Worth?

The purpose of neurosurgeon malpractice claims, like other medical malpractice lawsuits, is to compensate the victim or their family for the losses caused by the failure of medical practitioners to adhere to the standard of care. This means the value of a claim will depend on the extent of the victim’s or plaintiff’s damages. Unfortunately, in cases involving neurosurgical errors, the injuries tend to be very serious, and their damages are equally significant. The damages for which injured victims can seek financial compensation for a neurosurgical error include: Medical costs of diagnosing, treating, and recovering from the error, including the costs of hospital stays, tests, additional surgeries, medications, and rehabilitation Any projected future medical costs, such as long-term care expenses and the costs of mobility devices and other assistive technology Lost wages for the time the injured patient missed at work Declines in future income if the injuries are severe enough to keep the patient from working long-term Costs of making changes to the injured patient’s home to accommodate the limitations posed by their injuries, such as making the home wheelchair-accessible Non-economic pain and suffering damages and compensation for the reduction in quality of life For families pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit following a loved one’s fatal injuries from neurosurgical errors, damages can also include funeral and burial costs, the loss of the deceased’s projected future income, and the loss of the support, companionship, and affection of the loved one who passed away. As researchers reported in the article in Neurosurgical Focus, payouts in neurosurgeon malpractice litigation are the highest of all medical specialties, averaging nearly $440,000 in 2020 and potentially reaching into the multimillion-dollar range.

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Neurosurgery Errors

Philadelphia Neurosurgery Error Lawyers

Our Neurosurgical Malpractice Case Attorneys in Philadelphia, PA, Fight for Compensation for Patients Injured by Neurosurgeons’ Errors

An injury to the delicate nervous system of the body could result in debilitating losses of function. When damage of this nature occurs during medical procedures due to the mistakes of a neurosurgeon, turn to the Philadelphia neurosurgery error lawyers at Anapol Weiss.

Attorney and shareholder Kila Baldwin, who is leading the practice area at Anapol Weiss, has an impressive record of success in getting victims of neurosurgeon malpractice the compensation they deserve. Among Baldwin’s results in neurosurgical medical malpractice claims is a $9.7 million verdict for a client who sustained permanent brain damage.

Retaining Anapol Weiss to handle your Philadelphia neurosurgery malpractice claim means bringing on a nationally recognized team of trial attorneys to guide and represent you at no upfront cost. Contact us today to get started with a free consultation.

Neurosurgeon Malpractice in Philadelphia, PA

The City of Philadelphia is home to dozens of hospitals. People travel from out-of-state, across the region, and even internationally to highly-rated Philadelphia hospitals, especially when they’re seeking specialized care such as neurosurgery.

Areas Served by Our Philadelphia Neurosurgery Error Lawyers

Hospitals and outpatient centers across Philadelphia perform neurosurgical procedures. The facilities in Philly where a neurosurgeon’s mistake could lead to serious harm include:

Penn Presbyterian Medical Center on 39th Street
Penn Neurosurgery and Penn Spine Center, Pennsylvania Hospital, on 8th and Spruce Streets
Penn Neuroscience Center, Perelman Center for Advanced Medicine on Civic Center Boulevard
Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania on Spruce Street
Penn Neurosurgery University City at Penn Medicine University City on Market Street
Thomas Jefferson University Hospital on 11th Street
Jefferson Hospital for Neuroscience on Walnut Street
Jefferson Methodist Hospital on South Broad Street
Jefferson Torresdale Hospital on Knights Road
Temple University Hospital – Main Campus on Broad Street
Fox Chase Cancer Center at Temple University Hospital – Main Campus on Broad Street
Temple University Hospital – Jeanes Campus on Central Avenue
Einstein Neurosurgery at Jefferson Einstein Hospital on Old York Road
Wills Eye Hospital on Walnut Street

The numerous settings where these physicians practice mean there are ample opportunities for neurosurgery errors to occur in hospitals all over the city. From our office location in Logan Square, Center City, our neurosurgical malpractice case attorneys in Philadelphia, PA, assist injured patients and their families in all neighborhoods and sections of the city.

Cases Our Philadelphia Neurosurgery Error Lawyers Handle

Like neurological disorders and injuries themselves, the circumstances surrounding malpractice in this medical specialty are unique to the individuals who suffer from medical mistakes.

Examples of Neurosurgical Errors

The Philadelphia neurosurgery error lawyers at Anapol Weiss handle neurosurgeon malpractice cases such as the following:

Failing to order the appropriate tests before surgery
Misreading test results or patient charts and making mistakes during the procedure due to this misinterpretation
Failing to monitor the patient’s vital signs during surgery and while in recovery
Technical execution errors, such as incorrectly cutting into the brain, spine, or nerves or cutting into the wrong area of the brain, spine, or nerves
Failing to properly fill in the patient’s charts and records
Performing unnecessary neurosurgery, including operating on the wrong patient, operating on the wrong body part, and performing procedures that aren’t needed
Neglecting to order appropriate tests to check patients’ post-surgical well-being
Leaving foreign objects inside the body
Mistakes in administering medication or, during surgery, in administering anesthetics

Who Can Be Sued in a Neurosurgery Malpractice Claim?

Mistakes in neurosurgery can take a variety of forms, and the neurosurgeon isn’t always the responsible party (or, at least, the only responsible party). In a case involving a neurosurgical medical error, the injured patient or their family may pursue a malpractice claim against parties like the following:

Neurosurgeons
Nurse practitioners
Physician assistants (PAs)
Nurses
Technicians and operating room personnel
Anesthesiologists, nurse anesthetists, or anesthesiology physician assistants whose errors in administering anesthesia contributed to the outcome
Medical device manufacturers, when defective products contributed to the outcome along with malpractice
The hospital or facility where the error occurred

Injuries Due to Neurosurgeon Malpractice

The stakes are high. Mistakes made during and after neurosurgery often leave patients with injuries and complications like the following:

Permanent brain damage
Aneurysms
Paralysis
Loss of limb function
Complex regional pain syndrome
Functional impairments, including impairments in mobility and memory
Blood clots, including deep vein thrombosis (DVT) and potentially life-threatening pulmonary embolism (PE)
Serious, even life-threatening preventable infections
Fatal harm (wrongful death actions)

For injured patients and grieving families, life after a neurosurgery error may never be the same. Our Philadelphia neurosurgery error lawyers know that no amount of money can ever undo the harm caused by neurosurgical medical negligence, but we also know that victims deserve accountability from those at fault for the errors and financial compensation for the hardships they have been through. That’s why we fight for individuals and families affected by neurosurgeon malpractice all over Philadelphia and beyond.

Contact Our Philadelphia Neurosurgery Error Lawyers at Anapol Weiss Today for a Free Case Evaluation

A neurosurgical error affects everything. Shouldn’t your claim reflect everything you’ve been through, too? With our seasoned neurosurgical malpractice case attorneys in Philadelphia, PA, fighting for your family, you can feel confident that every avenue for accountability is being explored and the full extent of your damages is being considered in your claim.

For help from our neurosurgical malpractice case attorneys in Philadelphia, PA, contact Anapol Weiss online or call 215-608-9645 today.

Frequently Asked Questions About Neurosurgery Malpractice Claims in Philadelphia and Throughout PA

Neurosurgery refers to the medical specialty concerned with surgical treatments for disorders of the nervous system, including disorders of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. Examples of the conditions a neurosurgeon may treat and the procedures they may perform include:
Brain lesions and brain tumors
Spinal tumors and cancers of the spinal column and spinal nerves
Brain lacerations
Seizures
Aneurysms
Spinal degenerative disorders and deformities
Abnormal vertebrae
Spondylolisthesis (displacement of vertebrae)
Spinal cord compression
Accessory nerve injury
Broken coccyx
Neurological disorders, such as Parkinson’s disease
Disc degeneration
Spinal column reconstruction
Surgical treatment of spinal disc herniation, displacement, and bulging discs
Disc replacement surgery
Spinal fusion surgery
Some neurosurgical procedures are highly invasive major surgeries, while others are minimally invasive procedures. In either case, errors made by the neurosurgeon themselves or other members of the care team before, during, or after the procedure may cause a patient significant harm.
Neurosurgery is a complex and difficult field of medicine. The path to becoming a neurosurgeon, including undergraduate education, medical school, internship, and residency, takes 14 to 16 years of study and training. This extensive preparation is necessary because neurosurgeons operate on some of the most complex and critical parts of the body.
As highly trained and well-educated as neurosurgeons are, they’re still only human. It’s absolutely possible for neurosurgeons and the nurses, assistants, and other clinical personnel working in a neurosurgery department to make errors. Unfortunately, even a small mistake can be devastating when it comes to surgical interventions performed on the brain, spinal cord, and other parts of the nervous system.
Twenty percent of neurosurgeons in clinical practice in the U.S. are sued for medical malpractice each year, according to a 2020 article published in the American Association of Neurological Surgeons’ journal Neurosurgical Focus.
Researchers behind a 2022 study published in the journal Brain and Spine concluded that approximately one in eight neurosurgery patients suffer at least one adverse event due to human error. Twenty-five percent of all patients studied experienced an adverse event, and 25.9% of those events were attributable to human errors.
The purpose of neurosurgeon malpractice claims, like other medical malpractice lawsuits, is to compensate the victim or their family for the losses caused by the failure of medical practitioners to adhere to the standard of care. This means the value of a claim will depend on the extent of the victim’s or plaintiff’s damages. Unfortunately, in cases involving neurosurgical errors, the injuries tend to be very serious, and their damages are equally significant.
The damages for which injured victims can seek financial compensation for a neurosurgical error include:
Medical costs of diagnosing, treating, and recovering from the error, including the costs of hospital stays, tests, additional surgeries, medications, and rehabilitation
Any projected future medical costs, such as long-term care expenses and the costs of mobility devices and other assistive technology
Lost wages for the time the injured patient missed at work
Declines in future income if the injuries are severe enough to keep the patient from working long-term
Costs of making changes to the injured patient’s home to accommodate the limitations posed by their injuries, such as making the home wheelchair-accessible
Non-economic pain and suffering damages and compensation for the reduction in quality of life
For families pursuing a wrongful death lawsuit following a loved one’s fatal injuries from neurosurgical errors, damages can also include funeral and burial costs, the loss of the deceased’s projected future income, and the loss of the support, companionship, and affection of the loved one who passed away.
As researchers reported in the article in Neurosurgical Focus, payouts in neurosurgeon malpractice litigation are the highest of all medical specialties, averaging nearly $440,000 in 2020 and potentially reaching into the multimillion-dollar range.