Reviewed by Mazie Slater’s surgical error attorney [David A. Mazie – Managing Partner of Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman]

Surgical malpractice is widespread across America, and New Jersey is no exception. Surgical malpractice, also known as surgical errors, is high on the list of medical malpractice types that are all too common. Unfortunately, every surgery carries some degree of inherent risk, but patients and their families are entitled to trust that the surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses, and hospital staff involved in a procedure will meet the accepted standard of care. When that trust is broken by negligence, rather than by an unavoidable complication, the law treats the outcome differently. Surgical malpractice can occur before a patient ever reaches the operating room, during the procedure itself, or in the days and weeks of recovery that follow. At Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, our experienced New Jersey surgical malpractice lawyers represent patients and families who have suffered preventable injury, prolonged illness, or death because a member of a surgical team fell short of the care the law requires.

Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman is one of New Jersey’s most recognized plaintiffs’ law firms, with a long history of winning substantial verdicts and settlements in complex surgical malpractice cases. We have the resources, the medical expert network, and the courtroom track record to take on hospitals, surgical centers, and physician groups of any size. Our attorneys work on a contingency fee basis, meaning there are no attorney fees unless we win your case.

Surgical malpractice cases demand aggressive, experienced representation. Our attorneys have secured meaningful results for clients harmed by surgical negligence, including:

Results may vary depending on your particular facts and legal circumstances.

Medical malpractice falls under the broader umbrella of personal injury law, and Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman has been recognized in awards lists of the leading personal injury and medical malpractice firms in both New Jersey and the nation. Surgical malpractice cases are among the most technically demanding in medical malpractice litigation, and our firm has the experience and accolades to match that complexity. Some of our awards and recognitions include:

Unlike firms that treat surgical malpractice as a secondary or less important matter, we have decades of experience specifically in surgical negligence litigation. We understand how surgical errors occur, what expert testimony is required to prove medical negligence, and how to quantify the long-term impact these injuries have on a patient’s life and livelihood.

Surgical malpractice occurs when a surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurse, or other member of a surgical team fails to provide care that meets the accepted medical standard, and that failure causes harm to the patient. A bad surgical outcome is not, on its own, medical malpractice, as every operation carries some degree of risk. But when negligence causes or worsens that poor outcome, the patient may have a valid legal claim. To establish liability, a patient generally must show that the provider owed a duty of care, breached that duty through a negligent act or omission, and that the breach directly caused measurable harm.

The scope of the problem is well documented. A 2024 study published in The BMJ, which reviewed more than 1,000 surgical admissions across 11 Massachusetts hospitals, found that 38% of patients experienced at least one adverse event during or after surgery, and that the majority of those events were considered potentially preventable.

In 2019, the National Practitioner Data Bank had 579 medical malpractice payment reports filed in New Jersey, placing it 5th for the most reports in the US. These medical malpractice payment reports are generated whenever a monetary settlement or judgment is paid on behalf of a healthcare clinician. 

Specifically regarding surgical malpractice, the Health Care Quality Assessment Report for 2021 reported a national average of 597 surgical errors, with New Jersey having 11 adverse surgical events.

The injuries caused by surgical negligence range widely in severity, but many share a common thread: they were preventable had the standard of care been followed. 

Surgical errors generally fall into a recognizable set of categories, several of which are so clearly avoidable that patient-safety experts refer to them as “never events” — mistakes that should never occur when proper protocols are followed:

These errors rarely happen in isolation — they are usually the product of specific, identifiable breakdowns in how a surgical team plans for and executes a procedure:

If any of these circumstances describe what happened to you or a loved one, contact our experienced New Jersey surgical malpractice lawyers today to discuss your case.

Our attorneys have handled surgical malpractice cases arising from nearly every type of surgical procedure, grouped below by specialty:

We also handle cases involving surgical approaches and practices that cut across specialties, rather than a single body system:

If you or a loved one have suffered personal injury as result of a surgical error or malpractice in New Jersey, please contact our experienced surgical mistake lawyers here at Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman.

Suspecting that your surgeon or surgical team was negligent can be frightening and confusing. Taking the right steps as early as possible can make a meaningful difference in the strength of your case and your ability to recover compensation.

Seek a Second Medical Opinion. If you are experiencing worsening or unexpected symptoms after surgery, consult a different physician or specialist. A second opinion protects your health and creates an independent record of your condition.

Preserve All Medical Records. Request copies of your pre-operative evaluations, surgical notes, operative reports, post-operative visit records, and any imaging or diagnostic testing. These documents form the factual foundation of any malpractice claim.

Document Your Symptoms and Their Impact. Keep a written record of your symptoms, when they began, and how they are affecting your daily life and work. Photographs, appointment dates, and descriptions of changes in your condition can all serve as valuable evidence.

Avoid Making Statements to the Surgeon’s Office or Their Insurer. If the surgeon’s practice or a liability insurer contacts you seeking a statement or offering a quick settlement, do not respond without first consulting an attorney. Early settlement offers are often significantly below the true value of a claim.

Contact an Experienced New Jersey Surgical Malpractice Attorney Promptly. New Jersey’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims is generally two years from the date the injury was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered. Missing this deadline can permanently bar your right to recover compensation.

Liability in a surgical malpractice case depends on the specific facts of each situation. Multiple parties may share responsibility, and identifying every potentially liable defendant is a critical step in maximizing recovery.

Our surgical error attorneys conduct thorough investigations at the outset of every case, reviewing all medical records, consulting with medical experts in relevant specialties, and identifying all parties whose negligence may have contributed to our client’s injury.

Victims of surgical malpractice in New Jersey may be entitled to recover a broad range of damages reflecting both their financial losses and the personal impact of a preventable surgical injury.

Economic damages are those that can be calculated with relative precision. They include all past and anticipated future medical expenses directly related to the malpractice, including the cost of corrective surgery, medications, rehabilitation, and long-term care. Economic damages also encompass lost wages for time missed from work during recovery, as well as loss of future earning capacity if the injury prevents a return to one’s prior occupation or limits career advancement. In the most catastrophic cases, future care costs and modifications to the home or vehicle may also be included.

Non-economic damages compensate for losses that cannot be reduced to a dollar figure but are equally real and significant. These include physical pain and suffering associated with the injury and any corrective procedures, emotional distress and psychological harm, loss of enjoyment of life for activities that are no longer possible, and loss of consortium for a spouse or partner affected by the injured party’s condition. Unlike some states, New Jersey does not impose a cap on compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases, meaning our attorneys can pursue the full measure of our clients’ losses without an arbitrary legal ceiling. If a patient died as a result of surgical malpractice, the family may also be entitled to bring a wrongful death claim, seeking damages for funeral expenses, loss of financial support, and loss of companionship.

A preventable surgical error can alter the course of a patient’s life in an instant, and the road to recovery is often long, expensive, and uncertain. At Mazie Slater Katz & Freeman, we understand the depth of that impact, and we fight tenaciously on behalf of every client to ensure that those responsible are held accountable and that our clients receive the full compensation they deserve.

If you or a loved one has suffered as a result of surgical malpractice in the state of New Jersey, contact our experienced New Jersey medical malpractice firm today. We will get back to you as soon as possible to discuss your surgical malpractice case.