Surgical Errors Attorney in Kirkland, WA

40 Years of Washington Malpractice Litigation, Led by an Attorney Who Has Been Through 12 Surgeries

A surgical error isn’t just a bad outcome. When a surgeon, anesthesiologist, or surgical team acts in a way that a competent provider wouldn’t, and a patient is harmed as a result, that conduct can constitute actionable malpractice under Washington law. We represent Kirkland, WA, patients and families navigating that reality, bringing more than 40 years of Washington personal injury litigation to every surgical malpractice claim we take on.

Not every complication crosses the legal threshold. The standard is whether the provider’s conduct during preparation, the procedure itself, or post-operative care fell below what a reasonably competent surgeon would have done under the same circumstances. When it did, we can help.

Common Surgical Errors That Support a Malpractice Claim

Surgical negligence takes several distinct forms. Each can cause serious, lasting harm and may give rise to a claim against the operating surgeon, anesthesiologist, nursing staff, or the facility itself.

Types of errors we see in these cases:

• Wrong-site surgery: Operating on the wrong body part, the wrong patient, or performing the wrong procedure entirely. These are among the most preventable errors in surgical care.
• Retained surgical instruments or sponges: Objects left inside a patient after closure can cause severe infection, internal damage, and require additional surgery to remove.
• Organ or blood vessel damage: Accidental puncture or laceration during a procedure can result in hemorrhage, long-term organ damage, or death.
• Anesthesia errors: Too much or too little anesthetic, failure to monitor the patient, or unaccounted-for drug interactions can cause brain damage, awareness during surgery, or fatal outcomes.
• Post-operative negligence: Failure to monitor for infection, improper wound closure, or premature discharge can turn a technically successful surgery into a source of lasting harm.

Patients at Kirkland-area facilities, including EvergreenHealth Medical Center and Overlake Medical Center, who experience any of these complications may have grounds for a surgical malpractice claim. We can review the medical records and circumstances to assess whether the care you received met Washington’s accepted standards.

Why Kirkland Clients Trust Lindquist & Kornfeld

Robert Kornfeld has personally undergone 12 surgeries following serious injuries he sustained in July 1985. That lived experience shapes how we approach every surgical malpractice case. We don’t just understand the legal elements of these claims. We understand what recovery from a major surgical complication actually demands of a person and a family.

Our firm has recovered more than $35 million in settlements and verdicts for injured clients across Washington State. In the medical malpractice context specifically, our results include a $2,825,000 confidential settlement for a baby who suffered hypoxic brain injury due to physician and nursing staff negligence, and a $2,500,000 confidential settlement for a patient whose intracranial aneurysm wasn’t timely diagnosed. Lindquist & Kornfeld is a member of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, and Neil Lindquist is listed on Super Lawyers.

We handle cases throughout Kirkland, Bellevue, Seattle, and across Washington State. When a client can’t come to us because of injury or ongoing treatment, we go to them.