Unnecessary Surgery Lawyers in Cleveland, Ohio February 8, 2017.

If your doctor fails to try more conservative measures to treat your medical condition before resorting to surgery, and you suffer serious and debilitating injuries or nerve damage as a result, you may be able to file a medical malpractice claim.

For instance, patients who undergo gastric bypass surgery face serious risks, including infection, pulmonary embolism, and death. If a doctor neglects to suggest changing your diet and exercising before operating, he or she may be held liable for any injuries the patient suffers during the procedure.

Likewise, time, exercise, and therapy will sometimes heal a patient’s back. But an unscrupulous doctor may recommend unnecessary surgery without discussing those options.

Unnecessary Surgery in the News

March 23, 2014, argusleader.com reported that Dr. Allen Sossan operated on one patient more than a dozen times after convincing her that another operation would alleviate the pain she still suffered after back surgery.

"She had two additional back surgeries within a month," the site stated. "Then another in May and another in July when she was opened up from the front. Infections developed in her spine. The surgeries caused a hernia, which required more surgery, which created additional complications."

That patient later died in a nursing home, and a jury awarded her children $930,000 in a

To this day, Sossan holds a license in two states and would still hold a license in a third if he hadn’t let it lapse when he moved back to Iran.

"The guy has a lot of blood on his hands," one doctor told reporter Jonathan Ellis. "I’m talking dead people that had things done that never should have been done."

According to another doctor, one of Sossan’s patients was scheduled to have three vertebrae cemented together, so he ran an X-ray and an MRI and found that she didn’t even have a fracture.

That same patient was also scheduled to undergo carpal tunnel surgery, and Sossan had already operated on her other wrist. She hadn’t suffered any symptoms to necessitate the operation, but Sossan had told her she needed it, so she trusted him and scheduled it.

The doctor who spoke to this patient filed a complaint against Sossan, but the medical review board dropped it eight months later.

"I know at least two surgeons who reported this guy’s work," he told Ellis. But those complaints were dropped as well.

Why would a surgeon perform unnecessary surgery?

"[T]o me, he is just generating bills and income for himself, and really with no rationale," another doctor said during a deposition.

According to Argus Leader, orthopedic surgeons and spine surgeons generate the most money for hospitals.

What Damages Can I Pursue in a Surgery Malpractice Claim?

Compensation will depend on the extent of your injuries and the impact they’ve had on your life. In some cases, a patient may need additional operations to correct something that was done during the unnecessary surgery. A malpractice claim may recover these expenses. An attorney may also be able to help you pursue non-economic damages may address pain and suffering, mental anguish, reduced quality of life, and more.

If you underwent unnecessary surgery, attorney Chris Mellino welcomes you to contact our Cleveland office today for a free consultation. You may also request Chris’s free guide to filing a medical malpractice claim in Ohio.