Failure to Detect High Sugar Levels before a Procedure

Hyperglycemia is a medical condition where your blood contains an unusually high level of sugar (glucose). You can develop hyperglycemia from numerous causes, including:

• Diabetes, which interferes with the body’s ability to produce insulin or use it properly.
• Usage of medications such as corticosteroids
• Infections, which can cause hyperglycemia by increasing your production of stress hormones
• Prolonged physical or emotional stress, which can also release hormones that elevate blood sugar levels.
• Insulin production brought on by damage to the pancreas (pancreatic disease).
• Obesity, cancer, and various other medical conditions

It’s essential for doctors to check blood sugar levels before a medical procedure, especially in patients who are already diabetic. Otherwise, stress from the surgery can increase blood sugar levels and negatively increase the risk of infection and compromise the patient’s ability to heal. A capillary blood glucose tests or HbA1c test are used to assess your blood sugar. If the levels are not in the target range, your doctor will decide if the procedure should be rescheduled or canceled altogether.

Were you or a member of your family harmed by a doctor’s failure to check for or detect high blood sugar before a surgical procedure? If so, you should learn about your legal rights from a medical malpractice attorney. There is no denying that hyperglycemia puts patients at serious risk during a surgery and afterwards as their body fights to heal itself. Doctors that fail in their duty of care to patients and their loved ones need to be held accountable. Contact Normandie Law Firm today and speak to a lawyer that specializes in medical malpractice cases involving complications from diabetes.

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Medical Negligence in the Context of Hyperglycemic Patients

Can I sue if a doctor failed to detect high sugar levels before my surgery?

Medical negligence is more than the mere act of being careless or making a mistake. This is a specific type of negligence where a healthcare provider does not meet the accepted “standard of care.” So, you would have to have evidence indicating that the doctor did not meet the standard of skill and due diligence that is expected of a medical professional in their field. This deviation from established protocols before, during, and after the surgery may be grounds for a lawsuit.

The following are examples of negligence that can happen in reference to the detection of hyperglycemia before surgery:

• Not ordering pre-operative tests – the doctor failed to conduct blood sugar tests prior to a medical procedure
• Failing to consider patient history – a thorough assessment of the patient’s medical history, which would have revealed diabetes or risk of hyperglycemia
• Not acting on results from a test or informing the patient of the results
• Failing to take steps in order to stabilize a patient’s blood sugar before going ahead with the operation

Risks of Having Surgery with High Blood Glucose Levels

Undetected or unmanaged hyperglycemia can cause serious complications for the patient during and after a surgical procedure. Due to elevated blood sugar, the immune system may fail to function properly, thereby reducing the body’s ability to heal wounds while increasing the possibility of infection.

Permanent complications and death can occur as a result of:

• Damage to internal organs
• Lung and heart issues
• Stroke
• Diabetic ketoacidosis, a condition that makes the body produce overly high amounts of blood acids.

Help from a California Medical Malpractice Lawyer

A lawyer for negligence by a doctor can examine the details of your experience and advise you on the actions you can take. If you are eligible for a medical malpractice lawsuit, here are the ways we can help you:

Analyzing your medical records
– a thorough examination of your medical records – charts, doctor’s notes, test results, etc., will help us determine if your doctor’s actions or lack of action meets the standard for medical malpractice.

• Find medical experts – we can hire medical experts in the right field of medicine to review your records and give testimony on how your doctor deviated from the appropriate standard of care.
• Establishing causation – our legal team can prove that the harm you suffered is a direct result of negligent care by a healthcare provider. Without strong evidence on this issue, the hospital’s insurance company can argue that pre-existing conditions and other factors is the reason you were injured.
• Fighting for compensation – a medical malpractice lawsuit attorney can negotiate with the insurance company for a fair amount of compensation or take your case to trial if a settlement cannot be reached. Please note that well over 90% of all lawsuits for misconduct or negligence by a doctor are settled without the need for a trial.

Finding an Experienced Attorney

Not taking the necessary measures to detect or test for hyperglycemia is a serious failure that should not go unpunished. Victims and their loved ones can obtain advice on their legal options from a lawyer with experience in diabetes-related negligence claims against a doctor and/or hospital.

Here at Normandie, we have a team of medical malpractice and wrongful death attorneys who are ready to fight for you and the compensation you deserve. We can help you sue the medical provider for pain and suffering, on-going medical expenses, lost income, funeral expenses, loss of consortium, and more. Use our contact form or give us a call to schedule a free case review.

Zero Fee Guarantee

Those who wish to pursue a legal case for medical malpractice need strong representation from a personal injury law firm. However, legal services do not come cheap, and most people are struggling to cover basic needs after a loved one’s death or severe injury caused by a negligent doctor.

At Normandie Law Firm, all clients are protected by the Zero Fee Guarantee. We promise that you will pay $0 from day one, meaning we will take your case on contingency. Your settlement from a medical malpractice lawsuit includes attorney’s fees, and that means we make nothing unless you receive compensation. With nothing to lose, we hope you will take this opportunity to reach out and talk to a failure to detect high blood sugar injury attorney.

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