Baltimore, MD Intubation Error Attorneys

Lawyers Addressing Injuries to Patients Due to Airway Malpractice in Baltimore, Maryland

Whenever doctors need to perform a serious medical or surgical procedure on a patient, that individual will likely require some sort of ventilation assistance to ensure that they can breathe during the procedure. In providing ventilation assistance, over 15 million intubations are performed in the United States annually.

To assist a patient's ability to breathe, doctors may intubate the patient. Intubation involves inserting a long tube down the patient's trachea (airway) connected to a ventilator. The ventilator acts as the "lungs" for the patient during the procedure. Although it is common, the act of intubation is complicated, complex, and fraught with potentially dangerous complications that could lead to severe, life-threatening (or altering) complications.

At Silverman Thompson, our medical malpractice lawyers have helped numerous patients address injuries related to intubation. With our experience assisting victims of medical negligence, we can identify errors that occurred and damages that have affected patients. We work with medical experts to certify claims, demonstrating that injuries occurred because doctors or other providers failed to meet the appropriate standards of care and showing that the health and well-being of patients were affected by this negligence.

Examples of Intubation Errors and Airway Malpractice

Placement/Removal Injuries to the Trachea/Esophagus/Vocal Cords/Nerves

For starters, sometimes the doctor who is placing the tube in the trachea injures the patient while the tube is being placed or removed. This can occur despite the thorough guidelines and protocols that have been developed, as well as the years of training doctors have undergone. Injuries to the trachea often consist of perforations or punctures of the delicate tissue that lines it. Naturally, these injuries can be quite painful, and they often require surgical intervention to repair. In addition to the injury to the trachea itself, intubation procedures have been known to cause other types of injuries, such as vocal cord paralysis, perforated esophagus, nerve damage, infections, or injuries to the lip, mouth, or teeth.

Improper Placement of Tube/Dislodged Tube/Disconnected Tube

More serious complications can occur if the doctor who is placing the breathing tube improperly places it in the patient's esophagus (not the trachea) or if the tube becomes dislodged or disconnected at any point during the operation. The standard of care for intubating a patient is for the doctor to ensure that the tube is not only placed in the right position within the trachea, but that it also remains there during the entirety of the procedure. This can be done by taking intra-operative x-rays of the tube's placement following the placement and/or during the procedure to ensure that it is securely within the trachea.

In addition, anesthesiologists and other health care providers must carefully monitor the patient's oxygenation levels (oxygen saturation levels) after intubation to ensure that proper amounts of oxygen are circulating through the patient's lungs and body. If the tube is not placed properly and/or becomes dislodged, the patient may not receive oxygen for an extended period. When the brain does not receive enough oxygen, a patient may suffer an anoxic or hypoxic injury to the brain. Patients who experience an anoxic or hypoxic event are at a high risk of suffering a stroke, catastrophic brain injury, and/or wrongful death.

Contact Our Baltimore Intubation Malpractice Lawyers

When intubation errors result in injuries or wrongful death, legal representation from a skilled lawyer can be crucial to ensure that the parties responsible will be held accountable for their negligence. At Silverman Thompson, Andrew G. Slutkin and Ethan S. Nochumowitz can help address medical malpractice and make sure patients will be fully compensated for the harm they have suffered. Contact our Baltimore, MD intubation and airway malpractice attorneys and schedule a free consultation by calling 410-385-2225.