Wrong Site Brain Surgery Claims in New York
Wrong site brain surgery represents one of the most devastating surgical errors a patient can experience. When a neurosurgeon operates on the wrong side of the brain or the wrong area, the consequences can be catastrophic and permanent. These errors are classified as “never events” by healthcare regulators because they should never occur under any circumstances. Despite established safety protocols like the Joint Commission’s Universal Protocol, wrong site surgeries continue to happen in hospitals across New York in 2025, causing severe harm to patients who trusted their surgical teams with their lives.
If you or a loved one suffered injury from wrong site brain surgery in New York, you may have grounds for a medical malpractice claim. New York law provides victims with the right to pursue compensation for the additional surgeries, permanent disabilities, and life-altering consequences that result from these preventable surgical errors.
Key Takeaways
- Never events: Wrong site brain surgeries are preventable errors that should never occur
- Serious harm: According to the American College of Surgeons, 45.6% of wrong site surgery victims require additional surgery, with many suffering permanent injuries
- Neurosurgery vulnerability: Neurosurgery accounts for 22.1% of all wrong site surgery malpractice claims, the second-highest specialty
- Time limits apply: New York law gives you 2.5 years from the date of surgery to file a medical malpractice claim
- Compensation available: Victims can recover damages for additional surgeries, permanent disability, lost income, and lifelong care needs
What Is Wrong Site Brain Surgery?
Wrong site brain surgery occurs when a neurosurgeon operates on the incorrect location within the brain or on the wrong side of the brain entirely. The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines wrong site surgery as operating on the incorrect body part, side, or level. In neurosurgery, this can manifest in several devastating ways.
A patient scheduled for a left-sided craniotomy to address a brain bleed may instead undergo surgery on the right side of the brain. A tumor removal procedure targeting the frontal lobe might be incorrectly performed on the temporal lobe. A spinal surgery intended for the L4-L5 level might be performed on L3-L4 instead, which the AHRQ notes is a surprisingly common issue for neurosurgeons.
These errors are classified as “never events” by the National Quality Forum and “sentinel events” by the Joint Commission. The term “never event” reflects the consensus among medical professionals that with proper protocols and attention to detail, wrong site surgeries are entirely preventable. Healthcare facilities implement multiple verification steps specifically to prevent these catastrophic errors.
Wrong site brain surgery differs from other surgical complications because it represents a fundamental failure of the entire surgical team. Unlike an unexpected bleed during surgery or an adverse reaction to anesthesia, wrong site errors result from failures in communication, verification, and adherence to established safety protocols. The operation itself may be performed flawlessly from a technical standpoint, but if performed on the wrong location, it causes harm while leaving the actual medical condition untreated.
How Often Does Wrong Site Brain Surgery Occur?
According to research cited by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, wrong site surgeries occur in approximately 1 in 112,000 surgical procedures. This means an individual hospital might experience one such error every 5 to 10 years. While these statistics may seem reassuring at first glance, they translate to a significant number of preventable injuries when applied across thousands of hospitals nationwide.
Recent data from the Joint Commission reveals a troubling trend continuing into 2025. According to the American College of Surgeons, wrong surgery cases increased by 26% from 2022 to 2023. In 2023, the Joint Commission documented 112 wrong surgery cases out of 1,411 total sentinel events, representing 8% of all sentinel events. Wrong-site procedures comprised 62% of these wrong surgeries, a pattern that continues to concern patient safety experts in 2025.
Neurosurgery faces particular vulnerability to wrong site errors. A comprehensive study analyzing wrong site surgery malpractice claims from 2013 to 2020 found that neurosurgery accounted for 22.1% of all wrong site surgery claims, second only to orthopedics at 35.3%. The mean patient age in these cases was 55.7 years, and approximately 60% of cases resulted in settlements with an average indemnity of $136,452.84.
These numbers likely underestimate the true incidence of wrong site brain surgeries. Many cases go unreported to the Joint Commission because reporting is largely voluntary. Additionally, some wrong site errors may be discovered and corrected before the procedure begins, preventing harm but indicating systemic safety failures. Research also suggests that when procedures performed outside traditional operating rooms are included, such as those in interventional radiology or endoscopy suites, the rates of wrong site errors increase substantially.
Why Brain Surgery Has Higher Risk for Wrong-Site Errors
Brain surgery presents unique challenges that increase the risk of wrong site errors compared to other surgical specialties. Understanding these vulnerabilities helps explain why neurosurgery accounts for such a disproportionate share of wrong site surgery claims.
Imaging Complexity
Brain imaging interpretation requires sophisticated analysis of CT scans and MRIs. Images may be flipped or oriented differently depending on the viewing software. Radiological convention displays images as if looking at the patient from the feet upward, which can create confusion about left versus right laterality. A miscommunication about which hemisphere contains the pathology can lead to operating on the wrong side.
Bilateral Structures
The brain’s symmetrical structure increases confusion risk. Unlike a single knee or shoulder, the brain has two nearly identical hemispheres. Subdural hematomas, tumors, and vascular abnormalities can occur on either side. Without meticulous verification at multiple checkpoints, a surgeon might prepare to operate on the right frontal lobe when the pathology exists in the left frontal lobe.
Emergency Conditions
Many brain surgeries occur under emergency conditions with limited time for verification. A patient arrives unconscious after a traumatic brain injury with an epidural hematoma requiring immediate evacuation. The pressure to move quickly can lead surgical teams to skip or rush through verification steps, increasing the likelihood of wrong site errors.
Multiple Pathologies
Patients may present with abnormalities on both sides of the brain, though only one requires immediate surgical intervention. A patient might have an old stroke cavity on the left and a new bleed on the right. If documentation is unclear about which pathology requires surgery, the surgical team might target the wrong location.
Spinal Level Confusion
Spinal neurosurgery faces particular challenges with level identification. The AHRQ specifically notes that operating on the wrong level of the spine is a surprisingly common issue for neurosurgeons. Vertebrae can be difficult to count accurately, especially in patients with anatomical variants like transitional vertebrae or when landmarks are obscured by body habitus or previous surgery.
Team Communication
Neurosurgical procedures involve multiple specialists who may review imaging separately. The neurosurgeon, neuroradiologist, anesthesiologist, and surgical nurses must all share the same understanding of the surgical site. A breakdown in communication at any point in this chain can result in wrong site surgery.
Root Causes of Wrong Site Brain Surgery
The Joint Commission conducts detailed root cause analyses of sentinel events to identify the systemic failures that allow wrong site surgeries to occur. According to the American College of Surgeons’ analysis of 2023 data, several recurring factors emerge in wrong site surgery cases.
| Root Cause | Frequency | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Communication Failure | 70% | Inadequate information transfer between team members, unclear documentation, or assumptions rather than explicit verification |
| Procedural Noncompliance | 64% | Failure to follow the Universal Protocol, skipping the timeout, or incomplete site marking |
| Leadership Issues | 46% | Inadequate supervision, lack of accountability, or cultures that discourage speaking up about safety concerns |
| Task Fixation | Common | Focus on technical aspects of surgery causes team members to lose situational awareness about basic verification |
| Inadequate Shared Understanding | Common | Team members hold different understandings of the surgical plan without realizing the discrepancy |
The high percentage of procedural noncompliance cases is particularly concerning because the Universal Protocol exists specifically to prevent wrong site surgeries. When healthcare providers skip or inadequately perform the mandated timeout, they remove the final safety barrier designed to catch errors before the incision.
Communication failures often begin long before the patient enters the operating room. Illegible handwriting on consent forms, ambiguous terminology in imaging reports, or rushed verbal handoffs between shifts can plant the seeds of confusion that later blossom into wrong site errors. The surgical team may have perfect documentation showing the correct surgical site, but if that documentation was based on an initial misunderstanding of the imaging findings, every subsequent verification step will perpetuate rather than catch the error.
Leadership failures create environments where these errors can flourish. When hospital administrators prioritize efficiency over safety, surgical teams feel pressure to move quickly through cases. When surgeons create hierarchical dynamics that discourage nurses or residents from questioning decisions, the timeout becomes a meaningless ritual rather than a genuine verification opportunity. When hospitals fail to investigate near-miss events, they lose opportunities to identify and address systemic vulnerabilities.
The Universal Protocol and Why It Fails
In July 2004, the Joint Commission implemented the Universal Protocol for Preventing Wrong Site, Wrong Procedure, and Wrong Person Surgery. This protocol applies to all accredited hospitals, ambulatory care facilities, and office-based surgery practices. According to AHRQ’s PSNet, the protocol consists of three critical components designed to prevent surgical errors.
The Three Steps of the Universal Protocol
Step 1: Pre-procedure Verification
The surgical team conducts a verification process before the patient enters the operating room. This involves confirming the correct patient identity, the planned procedure, and the surgical site by reviewing all relevant documents, imaging studies, and consent forms.
Step 2: Surgical Site Marking
The surgeon personally marks the operative site using a permanent marker. For brain surgery, this typically involves marking the incision site on the scalp overlying the correct hemisphere or area of pathology. The mark must be unambiguous and visible after the patient is prepped and draped.
Step 3: Surgical Timeout
Immediately before the incision, all members of the surgical team must stop, actively participate in a final verification, and reach explicit agreement on the patient’s identity, the correct procedure, and the correct surgical site. Everyone present must have an opportunity to voice concerns.
Despite the Universal Protocol’s implementation more than two decades ago, wrong site surgeries continue to occur at concerning rates. The protocol fails for several reasons. First, many surgical teams treat the timeout as a meaningless checkbox exercise rather than a genuine safety pause. Nurses may recite the verification steps while surgeons remain focused on other tasks, barely acknowledging the process. This ritualistic compliance provides the appearance of safety without the substance.
Second, hierarchical dynamics in operating rooms can prevent junior team members from speaking up during the timeout. If a nurse notices that the surgical site marking appears to be on the wrong side but fears challenging the surgeon’s authority, the timeout fails in its fundamental purpose. Effective timeouts require psychological safety where any team member can halt the procedure without fear of retaliation.
Third, site marking can be inadequate or confusing. For brain surgery, marking the scalp incision site provides less clear guidance than marking a specific limb. If imaging is ambiguous or documentation contradictory, the marking itself may be incorrect. Research shows that approximately half of wrong site errors occur during procedures performed outside traditional operating rooms, where timeout protocols may be less rigorously observed.
Finally, emergency situations create pressure to bypass safety protocols. When a patient arrives with a life-threatening epidural hematoma requiring immediate evacuation, surgical teams may feel justified in skipping the full Universal Protocol. However, emergencies create the exact conditions of stress, urgency, and incomplete information that make wrong site errors more likely, not less.
Consequences of Wrong Site Brain Surgery
Wrong site brain surgery causes devastating harm that extends far beyond the immediate surgical error. The American College of Surgeons’ study of wrong site surgery malpractice claims documented the range of injuries victims experience.
| Injury Category | Percentage | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Additional Surgery Required | 45.6% | Patients require a second operation to address the correct site, doubling surgical risks and recovery time |
| Chronic Pain | 33.8% | Persistent pain from unnecessary surgical trauma to healthy brain tissue |
| Mobility Dysfunction | 10.3% | Paralysis, weakness, or coordination problems from damage to motor control areas |
| Aggravated Condition | 8.8% | The original pathology worsens while surgeons operate on the wrong location |
| Death | 7.4% | Fatal outcomes from the combined trauma of multiple surgeries or delayed treatment of the actual pathology |
| Permanent Scarring | 7.4% | Visible disfigurement from unnecessary craniotomy incisions |
The study also documented the severity of harm in wrong site surgery cases. Approximately 30.9% of victims experienced temporary minor harm, 23.5% suffered temporary major harm, and 17.6% endured permanent minor harm. These categories do not capture the full extent of suffering, as even “temporary” harm from brain surgery can involve months of disability, rehabilitation, and uncertainty about recovery.
Beyond the physical injuries, wrong site brain surgery inflicts profound psychological trauma. Patients who trusted their surgical team with their lives must confront the reality that medical professionals failed to perform the most basic verification. This breach of trust can create lasting anxiety, depression, and fear of future medical care. Patients may require extensive psychotherapy to process the trauma of having undergone unnecessary brain surgery.
The economic consequences can be catastrophic. Most wrong site brain surgery victims require a second surgery to address the correct location, doubling all surgical costs, hospitalization expenses, and rehabilitation needs. Those who suffer permanent neurological damage may require lifelong care, including personal care attendants, home modifications, mobility equipment, and ongoing therapies. Lost earning capacity compounds these costs, as many victims can no longer work in their previous occupations or must accept significant reductions in income.
Family members also bear heavy burdens. A spouse may become a full-time caregiver, sacrificing their own career and health to care for their injured partner. Children may lose the active, engaged parent they once knew. The entire family structure reorganizes around the consequences of a preventable medical error.
Regina Turner Case: A Preventable Tragedy
The 2013 case of Regina Turner illustrates the devastating consequences of wrong site brain surgery. According to court records, Turner, a 53-year-old St. Louis woman, suffered a series of mini-strokes over several years. Her neurosurgeon recommended a left-sided craniotomy bypass procedure to prevent future strokes by improving blood flow to that hemisphere of her brain.
However, Dr. Armond Levy performed the surgery on the wrong side of Turner’s brain. Rather than operating on the left side as planned, he performed the craniotomy on the right side. The error was not discovered immediately. Six days later, when the mistake became apparent, surgeons performed a second operation on the correct side of Turner’s brain. But the damage from the first surgery proved permanent and catastrophic.
Following these surgeries, Turner required round-the-clock care for the rest of her life. She lost the ability to walk and became dependent on a wheelchair. Her speech became garbled and difficult to understand. The woman who had been functional despite her mini-strokes became profoundly disabled due to unnecessary surgery on healthy brain tissue.
Turner and her family retained attorney Alvin Wolff and filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against Dr. Levy and SSM Health Care St. Louis. The case ultimately settled out of court, though the settlement terms were not disclosed. While no amount of money could restore Turner’s lost abilities, the settlement presumably provided resources for her extensive care needs.
The Turner case exemplifies several troubling aspects of wrong site brain surgery. First, the error went undetected through all the safety checkpoints that should have prevented it. The surgical team failed to catch the mistake during pre-procedure verification, site marking, and the surgical timeout. Second, the hospital did not immediately recognize the error, allowing six days to pass before performing the corrective surgery. This delay meant Turner’s original condition remained untreated while she recovered from unnecessary surgery. Third, the second surgery, while necessary to address the actual medical condition, added additional trauma and risk to a patient already harmed by the first error.
Cases like Turner’s demonstrate why wrong site brain surgery qualifies as a never event. With proper attention to the Universal Protocol and genuine commitment to surgical safety, her tragedy was entirely preventable.
New York Medical Malpractice Law for Wrong Site Surgery
New York law recognizes wrong site surgery as medical malpractice when healthcare providers breach the standard of care and cause patient harm. Understanding the legal framework is essential for anyone considering a claim related to wrong site brain surgery.
Critical Deadline: Act Within 2.5 Years
According to New York court rules, you must file a medical malpractice lawsuit within 2 years and 6 months (30 months) from the date of the surgical error. Missing this deadline typically means losing your right to pursue compensation, regardless of how severe your injuries.
Some exceptions exist, including the continuous treatment doctrine and cases involving incapacitation, but you should not rely on exceptions. Contact an attorney as soon as possible after discovering a wrong site error.
New York requires plaintiffs to prove four elements in medical malpractice cases. First, the plaintiff must establish that a doctor-patient relationship existed, creating a duty of care. This element is straightforward in surgical cases where the defendant surgeon performed the operation.
Second, the plaintiff must prove the surgeon or hospital breached the standard of care. Wrong site surgery inherently violates medical standards. The Joint Commission designates these events as sentinel events specifically because they represent clear deviations from accepted practice. Expert testimony will establish that competent neurosurgeons following proper protocols do not operate on the wrong side of the brain.
Third, the plaintiff must demonstrate causation, meaning the breach of care directly caused the injuries. In wrong site brain surgery cases, causation is typically clear. The unnecessary surgery caused damage to healthy brain tissue, required corrective surgery, and resulted in complications that would not have occurred if the surgeon had operated on the correct location.
Fourth, the plaintiff must prove damages. Wrong site brain surgery cases typically involve substantial damages, including the costs of the unnecessary surgery, the corrective surgery, extended hospitalization, rehabilitation, ongoing care needs, lost income, and pain and suffering. Permanent neurological injuries may require life care plans detailing decades of future medical expenses.
New York also requires plaintiffs to file a Certificate of Merit along with the complaint. An attorney must review the case with a qualified medical expert who concludes that the claim has merit before the lawsuit can proceed. This requirement prevents frivolous medical malpractice lawsuits while allowing legitimate claims to move forward.
Proving a Wrong Site Brain Surgery Claim
While wrong site surgery represents a clear breach of the standard of care, plaintiffs must still build a strong evidentiary case. Several types of evidence prove essential in these claims.
Medical records provide the foundation of any medical malpractice case. In wrong site surgery claims, records should include the pre-operative imaging studies, radiology reports, surgical consent forms, operative notes, and post-operative documentation. These records often reveal the chain of errors that led to the wrong site surgery. Consent forms may show the patient authorized surgery on the left side, while operative notes document surgery on the right side. Radiology reports may contain ambiguous language that created confusion about laterality.
The operative report deserves particular scrutiny. This document should describe exactly what the surgeon found and what procedures were performed. In wrong site cases, the operative report may contain clues that the surgical team discovered healthy tissue rather than the expected pathology. Descriptions of “normal anatomy” or lack of findings consistent with the pre-operative diagnosis can indicate wrong site surgery.
Imaging studies are critical evidence. Pre-operative CT scans or MRIs should clearly show which side of the brain contains the pathology requiring surgery. Expert witnesses can review these images and explain to the jury exactly where the surgeon should have operated and where surgery actually occurred. In some cases, post-operative imaging may show surgical changes on the wrong side of the brain.
The surgical timeout documentation, or lack thereof, provides important evidence. Operating room records should contain documentation that the Universal Protocol was followed, including confirmation of the correct patient, procedure, and site. Absence of timeout documentation suggests the surgical team skipped this critical safety step. Even when documentation exists, it may reveal problems such as incomplete verification or lack of active participation by all team members.
Expert testimony is required to establish the standard of care, demonstrate breach, and prove causation. In wrong site surgery cases, experts typically include a neurosurgeon who can explain proper surgical protocols and how the defendant deviated from them. Experts may also include a patient safety specialist who can analyze the systemic failures that allowed the error to occur. Neuropsychological experts may testify about the cognitive and functional impacts of the injury.
Witness testimony from operating room staff can provide powerful evidence. Nurses or surgical technicians who participated in the procedure may remember concerns raised during the timeout, confusion about the surgical site, or pressure to skip verification steps. These witnesses can corroborate that safety protocols were not properly followed.
Compensation for Wrong Site Brain Surgery Victims
New York law allows wrong site brain surgery victims to recover several categories of damages. Understanding the types of compensation available helps victims and their families appreciate the full scope of recovery they may pursue.
Economic Damages
Medical Expenses: All costs related to both the wrong site surgery and corrective procedures, including hospitalization, surgeon fees, anesthesia, imaging studies, medications, and rehabilitation services.
Future Medical Costs: Life care plans detailing decades of future therapies, assistive devices, home health aides, and facility care for permanent injuries.
Lost Income: Wages lost during recovery and treatment from both surgeries.
Lost Earning Capacity: The difference between pre-injury earning potential and post-injury capacity when permanent disability prevents returning to previous occupation.
Non-Economic Damages
Pain and Suffering: Physical pain from unnecessary surgery and permanent neurological damage.
Emotional Distress: Psychological trauma of medical betrayal and living with permanent disabilities.
Loss of Enjoyment: Inability to participate in activities and experiences that previously brought joy and fulfillment.
Loss of Consortium: Impact on marital relationship, companionship, affection, and services when brain injury causes profound disability.
Economic damages compensate for financial losses, including all medical expenses related to both the wrong site surgery and the corrective procedures. This encompasses hospitalization, surgeon fees, anesthesia costs, imaging studies, medications, and rehabilitation services.
Future medical expenses constitute a major component of economic damages in cases involving permanent injury. A life care planner may prepare a detailed analysis of all future care needs, including ongoing therapies, assistive devices, home health aides, and facility care if needed. These projections often extend for decades and can amount to millions of dollars in severe brain injury cases.
Lost income includes wages lost during recovery from both surgeries and any ongoing medical treatment. If the brain injury prevents the victim from returning to their previous occupation, lost earning capacity damages compensate for the difference between what they would have earned and what they can now earn in a different capacity. For younger victims with decades of working years remaining, lost earning capacity can represent the largest single damage category.
Non-economic damages compensate for pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, and other intangible harms. Wrong site brain surgery victims experience profound suffering that extends well beyond physical pain. They endure the psychological trauma of medical betrayal, the grief of lost abilities, and the daily challenges of living with permanent disabilities. While no dollar amount can truly compensate for these losses, New York law recognizes their significance.
In cases involving loss of consortium, spouses may recover damages for the loss of companionship, affection, and services resulting from their partner’s injury. When wrong site brain surgery causes profound disability, the impact on the marital relationship can be devastating.
New York does not cap medical malpractice damages in most cases, unlike some other states. This allows juries to award compensation that truly reflects the magnitude of harm in catastrophic cases. However, New York does structure payment of future damages over time for awards exceeding certain thresholds, rather than providing a single lump sum.
The average indemnity payment in wrong site surgery cases was $136,452.84 according to the American College of Surgeons study, but this figure represents an average across all severities of wrong site surgery, including minor cases. Brain surgery cases involving permanent neurological injury typically result in substantially higher recoveries, potentially reaching into the millions of dollars for the most severe cases.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do I know if I experienced wrong site brain surgery?
Signs of wrong site brain surgery include discrepancies between the surgery you consented to and what actually occurred, unexpected neurological deficits not explained by the intended procedure, or medical staff discussions suggesting confusion about the surgical site. Review your operative report and compare it to your consent form. If you developed new neurological problems on the opposite side of your body from what was expected, this may indicate wrong side brain surgery. Request all your medical records and consider having them reviewed by another neurosurgeon or a medical malpractice attorney.
Can I sue if the surgeon corrected the mistake during the same operation?
Yes, you may still have a valid claim even if the surgical team recognized the error during the procedure and operated on the correct site before closing. You still suffered harm from unnecessary surgery on healthy brain tissue, experienced extended anesthesia time, faced increased surgical risks, and endured additional trauma. The fact that the error was caught and corrected during the same operation may reduce damages compared to cases requiring a second surgery days later, but it does not eliminate liability for the initial wrong site error.
What if I signed a consent form that was unclear about the surgical site?
An unclear consent form does not protect the surgical team from liability. Healthcare providers have an obligation to ensure patients understand and consent to the specific procedure planned, including the correct surgical site. If the consent form was ambiguous about left versus right or contained other confusing information, this represents a failure in the informed consent process. Moreover, the Universal Protocol requires verification of the surgical site through multiple checkpoints beyond just the consent form. The surgical team should have recognized the ambiguity and clarified it before proceeding.
How long do I have to file a wrong site brain surgery claim in New York?
New York law generally provides 2 years and 6 months (30 months) from the date of the surgery to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. However, some exceptions may extend this deadline. The continuous treatment doctrine can delay the start of the limitations period if you remained under the care of the same physician or facility for the related condition. If you were mentally incapacitated by the brain injury and unable to protect your legal interests, the court may toll the statute of limitations. Do not rely on these exceptions. Consult with a medical malpractice attorney promptly to protect your rights.
Who can be held liable for wrong site brain surgery?
Multiple parties may share liability for wrong site brain surgery. The neurosurgeon who performed the operation bears primary responsibility for ensuring they operate on the correct site. The hospital may be liable for systemic failures in implementing and enforcing the Universal Protocol, inadequate supervision, or employing staff who failed to properly verify the surgical site. Nurses and surgical technicians who participated in the timeout without properly verifying the surgical site may share responsibility. Radiologists who provided ambiguous reports may be liable if their unclear documentation contributed to site confusion. An experienced attorney will investigate all potential defendants to ensure full accountability and maximize available compensation.
What if the hospital says they followed the Universal Protocol?
If the hospital claims they followed the Universal Protocol yet wrong site surgery still occurred, this raises serious questions about either the truthfulness of that claim or the adequacy of their protocol implementation. Request documentation of the pre-procedure verification, site marking, and timeout. Examine whether all required steps were genuinely completed or merely checked off without proper attention. Even if the protocol was technically followed, liability may exist if the implementation was perfunctory rather than meaningful. For example, if the surgical team conducted a rushed timeout without ensuring all members actively participated and agreed on the correct site, this represents negligence despite technical protocol compliance.
Can I recover compensation if my loved one died from wrong site brain surgery?
Yes, if your loved one died as a result of wrong site brain surgery, you may be able to file a wrongful death claim. New York law allows certain family members, typically through the estate’s personal representative, to pursue wrongful death claims for losses including funeral and burial expenses, medical expenses incurred before death, lost financial support the deceased would have provided, lost inheritance, and the conscious pain and suffering your loved one experienced before death. These cases are complex and time-sensitive, requiring experienced legal representation to navigate both the wrongful death claim and any potential medical malpractice claims.
Take Action to Protect Your Rights
Wrong site brain surgery represents one of the most egregious failures in modern medicine. These never events are entirely preventable, yet they continue to occur with troubling frequency across New York hospitals. If you or a loved one suffered harm from wrong site brain surgery, you should not have to bear the consequences of someone else’s preventable error.
New York law provides a path to compensation, but the window for taking legal action is limited. The 2.5-year statute of limitations means delays can cost you the right to pursue a claim, regardless of how severe your injuries or how clear the medical negligence. Evidence becomes harder to obtain as time passes, memories fade, and staff members change positions or leave facilities.
Beyond individual compensation, holding healthcare providers accountable for wrong site surgeries creates incentives for better safety practices. Hospitals that face consequences for failing to properly implement the Universal Protocol are more likely to prioritize genuine safety measures over perfunctory compliance. Your case may prevent future patients from experiencing similar harm.
Experienced Medical Malpractice Representation
If you believe you or a family member experienced wrong site brain surgery in New York, contact us for a consultation to discuss your situation. We can review your medical records, consult with expert neurosurgeons, and help you understand your legal options.
