• Medical Negligence
• Cerebral Palsy
• Erbs Palsy
• Kernicterus
• Obstetrics & Gynaecology
• Cancer Negligence
• Brain Haemorrhage
• Surgery & Laparoscopy
• Medical Product Liability
• Mens Health
• Accident & Emergency
• General Practitioners
• Anaesthetic Awareness

Anaesthetic awareness occurs in about one per cent of patients in Ireland who may recall the substantial details of a surgical procedure. In most cases the patient will be totally paralysed and unable to respond and of those people suffering from anaesthetic awareness about 10 per cent will have felt intense pain. Women undergoing an emergency caesarean section have the highest rate of anaesthetic awareness. You may be eligible for medical negligence compensation if your anaesthetist is found to be negligent in failing to ensure your medical welfare by subjecting you to intense pain as a result of clinical negligence.

Some incidents of anaesthetic awareness can be very traumatic, where intense pain was felt during the operation and psychological disturbances occur later on. Common side effects and sensations from inadequate anaesthesia include: pain from skin incisions; distress during the operation due to temporary paralysis while being awake but not being able to signal; subsequent psychological problems, including nightmares, depression and panic attacks. If medical negligence is proven, claims can be substantial especially for those with ongoing psychological problems.

Many people are resilient to anaesthetics and steps can be taken to minimise these cases, including thoroughly checking the patient’s medical history and administering adequate pre-medication. A case of medical negligence involving anaesthetic awareness is overwhelmingly caused by poor technique on the part of the anaesthetist, followed by faulty, unchecked or malfunctioning equipment. Administration of the wrong pharmaceutical drug is far less common.

If you have suffered from anaesthetic awareness during a surgical operation and you believe that you were partially conscious and that you felt pain or if you are having psychological problems, you should contact a clinical negligence solicitor with a view to making a compensation claim against the anaesthetist and the relevant healthcare authority.

Our specialist personal injury solicitors deal with a wide range of medical negligence compensation claims. If you have been injured as a result of negligence by a healthcare professional, we can help you to preserve your legal right to compensation. We offer free consultations for advice to find out whether you have a good case, how to go about claiming and how much your compensation might be worth. We will give you clear unequivocal advice about your chances of success and the anticipated value of the claim. If after talking to us you decide not to take matters further you are under no obligation to do so and you will not be charged anything at all.