While hip replacement surgery is quite common, it does pose some risks. If you or your loved one has suffered a preventable injury during or immediately following hip replacement surgery, you may be entitled to compensation for your harm. At DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers, our Rochester medical malpractice attorneys can investigate the facts of your case and determine the viability of your claim.
Hip surgery is a major surgical operation. In a hip replacement surgery, the surgeon removes most or all of the worn-out joint and replaces it with an artificial joint. The most common reason an individual would seek a hip replacement is osteoarthritis, a condition in which the cartilage in a joint breaks down or wears down. When cartilage breaks down, bones rub together, causing great pain to the patient.
Hip replacement surgery malpractice can happen in a number of ways, including a surgical error during the procedure, performing surgery without conducting a proper evaluation on a patient who did not actually need it (there are many surgical alternatives to hip replacement, such as osteotomy, which may be appropriate when full hip replacement surgery is not necessary), pain due to the use of a faulty prosthetic, dislocation of the new hip when pressure is applied because the surgeon did not place the prosthetic hip properly, or an infection resulting when surgical equipment is not sterilized properly and bacteria festers in the wound.