As human beings, we all make mistakes. This propensity to err impacts every facet of our lives and, in certain circumstances, can have particularly dire consequences. For those individuals who work within the medical profession, a simple mistake can quickly result in a patient suffering adverse harm, injury and even death.

Medical errors that occur during a surgical procedure are among some of the most serious and potentially harmful to patients. While hospitals and operating room staff members have taken steps to reduce surgical errors, such errors still occur with far too much frequency. While some medical mistakes are difficult to anticipate and therefore avoid, those that occur in a surgical setting are often attributed to one or more common deficiencies.

Doctors and nurses who work in an operating room setting are often ill-prepared for certain medical emergencies. In many cases when such an emergency presents, inadequate training and failure to ensure vital emergency equipment is on hand lead to patients suffering harm and injury.

Another common error committed by operating room doctors and nurses revolves around the failure to monitor a patient's vital signs. Like many workplaces, hospitals rely heavily on technology. While nearly all medical equipment is outfitted with alarms and alerts, often such machines are muted and therefore not heard by nurses and doctors. In other cases, medical professionals fail to monitor or correctly interpret the readings from such machines.

Clear and open communication among members of a surgical team is also often a problem in many operating rooms. This is particularly a problem in cases when a surgeon and anesthesiologist disagree and where ego and liability are often driving factors.

Hospitals and members of operating room staff that fail to address these common deficiencies may be negligent in causing patients harm. Those individuals who have suffered as a result of a medical mistake stemming from one of these deficiencies would be wise to discuss their case with an attorney.

Source: Out Patients Surgery, "10 Common Slip-Ups That Can Get You Sued," William Landess, CRNA, MS, JD, Aug. 2013