The establishment of a patient airway to allow the person to breathe, is essential to sustain life for a patient after an accident. There are two types of ways to help a person in crisis to breathe:
- Intubation
- Tracheostomy
The intubation consists of inserting a tube into a person’s mouth who can’t breathe, to help secure an open airway to sustain the individual’s life. The tracheostomy is a procedure where the person’s neck will be cut and a tube placed in the windpipe, to allow air to enter into the person’s lungs to sustain life.
Severe Respiratory Distress Requires a Safe Airway – Stat!
If a person is in a situation of severe respiratory distress, that individual needs to be intubated right away to preserve a safe airway to breathe.
Patients who are in crisis and cannot breathe, need to be intubated to establish an airway to sustain their life. If a person is in an accident and cannot breathe because of a collapsed lung or other injury, that individual can go into severe respiratory distress. If this occurs, there can be an instance of cardiac arrest and brain damage, if the person is not immediately intubated.
Intubation Should Not Be Delayed During an Emergency
If a person cannot breathe, it is critical that the individual gets intubated immediately. If there is a delay in the intubation or for some reason the intubation is performed wrong, the individual can have dire repercussions as a result of this error.
A person who has not been intubated in time can have and sustain serious brain injuries. These brain injuries are on account of blood and oxygen that are not going to the brain, during the down time of the person not being able to breathe properly. Healthcare professionals need to evaluate and maintain critical airway management for all patients in respiratory distress or cardiac arrest. In these cases, an individual will have a risk of an increase in intracranial pressure, which can cause a traumatic brain injury and brain damage as a result of any delays in service.
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Proper Intubation Can Avoid Permanent Brain Injury
Any time that a person experiences loss of the ability to breathe independently, there is a risk that the person will die. At those moments, it is important that the person have an open airway to be able to get air to all vital organs of the body. If there is a failed airway, then the person runs the risk of death as a result of not being able to breathe to sustain life.
A Pre-Intubation Neurological Examination Can Help Avoid Brian Injuries
Before an intubation is performed, it may be necessary for the healthcare provider to perform a pre-intubation neurological examination of the patient. This will help to rule out any other medical problems or complications that can be worsened after intubating. The pre-intubation examination may include a review of:
- Level of the person’s orientation to the environment
- Assess pupils and eye movements
- Review motor function of each extremity
- Review tone and reflexes
- Review involuntary movements for tremor or epileptic activity
- Review spinal abnormalities
- Review cervical tenderness
- Review sensory level of spinal cord injuries
If you have suffered an intubation error that resulted in a brain injury, you can call us this morning at the Normandie Law Firm, to discuss your claim.
Intubation Errors Can Cause Brain Injuries and Death
If a person experiences an intubation error where there is a failed intubation, then the individual may suffer a brain injury or death as a result of this medical mistake. Intubation errors or delays can occur after an accident, while the person is being treated by emergency personnel, such as EMTs or in a hospital emergency department. There are many reasons why an intubation is delayed, such as because:
- Improper training by person intubating the patient
- Congenital mid-facial abnormalities of the patient
- Equipment problems
- Laryngoscope light malfunction
- Monitoring problems
- Dysfunctional capnography
- Problems with airway equipment
- Setup time taking too long
- Fiberoptic bronchoscopes missing from intubation equipment
- Assistant error in tube placement
- Tube insertion issues
- Wrong head position of patient
- Improper laryngoscope handling by person inserting tube
- ICU bed not designated for proper patient airway management
- Bed space too crowded with monitors limiting access to patient
- Low lighting in room
- Limited access to advanced intubation equipment
- Monitoring in wrong place for viewing of airways
- Limited low-risk cases for training of personnel on proper procedures
- High-risk hospital with poorly trained clinical staff
- Aspiration risk
- Drugs causing gastric stasis
Other issues that can result in a healthcare provider working to insert an intubation tube, but making a mistake or having an error associated with the procedure, might include issues with:
- Difficult airways
- Immobilized neck
- Poor airway assessment
- Urgency and emergency status prompted mistakes in intubation
- Pulmonary shunt interfering with intubation
- Cervical spine trauma
- Burns
- Bronchospasm causing breath-stacking
- Optimal positioning not feasible in space
- Regurgitated material
- Blood in mouth
- Poor mask seal
- Blocked airway device
- Oxygen failure
- Foreign body in airway
- Excessive cricoid force
- Severe bronchospasm
- Laryngeal spasms
- Doctor may not be trained with airway strategy skills
- Critically ill person not seen as an airway risk
- Obese patient tolerates airway management poorly
- Nursing staff lack of airway management
If you have been injured by an intubation error that resulted in you having to suffer a brain injury, you can call us at the Normandie Law Firm. You will have access to talk to an attorney with expertise in personal injuries after intubation errors.
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Our law office is here to give you a zero-fee guarantee, regarding your case for a personal injury based on an intubation error.
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We can offer to you a free second opinion, with lawyers who can help with your case regarding personal injuries from an intubation error. You will want to be connected with an experienced attorney in Los Angeles right now, at the Normandie Law Firm.
Can I Sue for an Intubation Error that Resulted in a Brain Injury?
Yes, we can sue for an intubation error that has resulted in a brain injury. You just need to talk to our Los Angeles case lawyers today about your case. You can file a lawsuit based on your claim, and discuss your case now with our case attorneys in Los Angeles, who can sue on your behalf.
Call for a Free Consultation
You can call us right now, to discuss your intubation error brain injury case. Just call us at the Normandie Law Firm right now, to be connected with an attorney who specialized in personal injuries after intubation error cases. We will give to you a free consultation when you give us a call.
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