A 13-year-old girl from Oakland went to a local hospital for a tonsillectomy surgery but never woke up after the procedure was complete. The teen went into cardiac arrest during the surgery and was declared brain-dead shortly afterwards. Her family says that the doctors recommended the teen undergo a tonsillectomy because she suffered from sleep apnea. When the teen awoke after her operation she starting bleeding heavily. Moments later, she went into cardiac arrest and she never recovered after the ordeal. While on life support, the teenager is no longer capable of sustaining her life without machinery and doctors say that she has no brain activity whatsoever.

Currently, the Children's Hospital staff say that they are deeply sorry about the teenager's reaction to the surgery and that they are committed to learning what lead to the catastrophic outcome. A doctor who is an expert on brain death claims that the teen is completely brain dead and that the ventilator that is currently helping her to breathe cannot bring her back from this state.

As a result, the hospital has recommended pulling the plug on the machinery and letting the teen pass away. Her family, on the other hand, wants the hospital to perform a tracheotomy and insert a feeding tube for the teenager so that they can move her to a nursing home and prolong her life. Still, a judge ruled that based on the tests performed, the teenager is technically already considered to be deceased. The hospital claims that it does not perform procedures on people who are already dead.

Originally, the Oakland teen was supposed to be disconnected from her machinery today, but with about 10 minutes to spare a nursing home offered to take the child in New York. The teen's family firmly believes that she is still alive and that with the right care their daughter may come back to life. The hospital says that they are not dealing with a person in a vegetative state but with a dead body.

Surgical complications like this one are often unexpected and many doctors can't prepare for the issues that are going to occur. In some cases, an individual may be fully responsible for the reaction that a patient has to surgery. In other cases, the accident may have been unavoidable. When filing a medical malpractice claim, it is essential to determine whether or not you were liable for the accident which occurred.

If another doctor in the same profession would have acted differently in the situation that you encountered, then this means that the physician may be liable for the incident that occurred. As well, if other medical professionals testify that the incident could have obviously been avoided with precautionary steps, then you may have a case for medical malpractice. On the other hand, if your loved one has been injured due to a freak reaction or unexpected body sensitivity to the medication then you may be unable to seek compensation.

Don't hesitate to seek out a medical malpractice attorney nearest you who can help you to determine whether or not you should file a lawsuit against a physician who was performing a procedure when you experienced injury or medical complications. With the right attorney on your side, you may be capable of getting the financial compensation that you need to pay for any future medical expenses, past medical costs, and even punitive damages because of the emotional trauma of the accident. If your loved one was injured then don't hesitate to seek compensation this way. You have the right to seek assistance in your case right away.