Medical Negligence

Anaesthetic Awareness

Anaesthetics are used during tests and surgical operations to numb sensation in certain areas of the body or induce sleep. This prevents pain and discomfort and enables a wide range of medical procedures to be carried out.

The most common types of anaesthetic are:

  • Local anaesthetic – where a small area of the body is numbed but you remain conscious
  • General anaesthetic – where you are totally unconscious and unaware of the procedure.

Other types of anaesthetic include:

  • Regional block anaesthetic – a local anaesthetic given to a specific region of your body, leading to numbness or pain relief for deeper operations where more extensive numbness is needed
  • Epidural anaesthesia – a type of regional anaesthetic usually used to numb the lower half of the body; for example, as pain relief during labour and childbirth
  • Spinal anaesthetic – a type of regional anaesthetic used to give total numbness, lasting about 3 hours, to the lower parts of the body, such as in the base of your spine or in your lower back, so surgery can be safely carried out in this area
  • Sedation – medication that makes you feel sleepy and relaxes you both physically and mentally; it’s sometimes used to keep you calm during minor, painful or unpleasant procedures

Whilst anaesthetic can be an essential part of undergoing a medical procedure or operation, mistakes can be made with long term and devastating consequences.

Burnetts have expertise in dealing with a wide range of anaesthetic negligence cases including:

  • Damage caused to the nerves or spinal cord whilst administering an anaesthetic or epidural
  • Failure to monitor a patient correctly during or after the procedure leading to brain damage
  • Failure to take a proper patient history prior to the anaesthetic leading to complications or allergic reaction
  • Administering the wrong type or amount of anaesthetic
  • Anaesthetic awareness where too little anaesthetic is administered or the patient is not properly monitored leading to psychological distress
  • Incorrectly intubating the patient leading to oxygen starvation and brain damage
  • Anaesthetic equipment which is faulty or has not been maintained