“I Woke Up and Something Was Wrong”: When an Anaesthetic Causes Harm
Summary
Anaesthesia in Australia is very safe, and serious complications are rare. But they do happen: damaged teeth, nerve injury after a block, awareness during surgery, severe allergic reactions, breathing problems and, rarely, brain injury. This guide is for people harmed by an anaesthetic who want to know whether it was a known risk or something that could have been prevented. It explains the risks, what the anaesthetist should check, what your records show, and how the law looks at it.
Quick answer · updated November 2026
Common side effects of anaesthesia include sore throat and nausea. Rarer complications include dental damage, nerve injury, awareness and severe allergic reactions. A complication isn’t automatically negligence; the questions are whether you were properly assessed beforehand, monitored during, and treated quickly when something went wrong. Your anaesthetic record is the key document.
Your anaesthetic at a glance
- 1Pre-anaesthetic checkYour health, medicines, allergies and airway.
- 2ConsentThe plan, the risks and the alternatives.
- 3During surgeryContinuous monitoring of breathing, oxygen and heart.
- 4RecoveryObservation until you are safe to go to the ward.
- 5AfterwardsProblems should be explained and followed up.
At any stage: breathing difficulty, chest pain, a swollen face or tongue, or new weakness after an anaesthetic is an emergency.
I was forty-one and having a routine shoulder operation. The anaesthetist suggested a nerve block in my neck as well as a general anaesthetic, so I’d have less pain afterwards. It was all over in a few minutes, he said.
I woke up and my arm was numb, which they’d said it would be. By the next day the rest of me was fine, but my arm still wasn’t.
A week later I still couldn’t grip a cup. Two weeks later my hand was weak and tingling. The surgeon said it was probably the block wearing off slowly.
Nobody from anaesthetics called. When I rang the hospital, nobody seemed to know who I should talk to.
A composite story, drawn from the experiences of many families I have worked with, combined and changed so that no one can be identified. It does not describe any individual client.
If something went wrong with your anaesthetic, I want you to know that your questions are completely reasonable. You were unconscious or sedated, and you trusted the people watching over you. Wanting to know what happened while you couldn’t see is natural.
This guide covers the risks of anaesthesia, what should happen before, during and after, what your records should show, and how the law looks at anaesthetic complications.
Why I can write this
I have been a medical negligence lawyer since 2014 and have worked on many hundreds of claims, including many involving anaesthesia and sedation. My doctorate looked at patterns of failure in medical negligence. I am not medically qualified. The clinical facts in this article are checked against named sources, listed in the references, and I explain how I work in our editorial standards.
Start with your question
- What are the risks of a general anaesthetic?
- What should the anaesthetist check beforehand?
- Can a nerve block cause permanent damage?
- Can an anaesthetic damage my teeth?
- What monitoring should happen during surgery?
- What does the anaesthetic record show?
- Was my anaesthetic complication preventable?
The risks
Royal Prince Alfred Hospital’s anaesthesia guide for patients describes common short-term side effects such as sore throat, nausea, blurred vision, itching and drowsiness. Dental damage is uncommon. Rare major complications include awareness under anaesthesia, severe allergic reactions and malignant hyperthermia. Heart attack, stroke, confusion and memory problems can occur, depending on the surgery, your age and your health.1
Definition
Anaesthetic record is the chart the anaesthetist keeps during your operation, recording your oxygen, blood pressure, heart rate, drugs and events minute by minute.
In plain terms: the black box of your anaesthetic.
The pre-anaesthetic assessment
Before your anaesthetic, the anaesthetist should assess your fitness for surgery and discuss the risks with you.1 That assessment should cover your health conditions, medicines, allergies, previous anaesthetics, sleep apnoea, and your airway and teeth. Follow the fasting and medication instructions you are given; some medicines, including injectable weight-loss medicines and blood thinners, may need special instructions.1
Questions to ask your anaesthetist
- What type of anaesthetic do you recommend, and why?
- What are the risks for someone like me?
- If you suggest a nerve block, what are its risks and alternatives?
- Do my teeth, weight or sleep apnoea change anything?
- Who do I contact if I have a problem afterwards?
Nerve blocks
The RPA guide says nerve damage after a nerve block happens in less than 0.1% of cases, with most people recovering within six weeks, and permanent nerve damage in about 0.01%.1 If numbness or weakness continues beyond the expected time, it should be followed up promptly, ideally by the anaesthetic team, and you may need nerve testing.
Dental damage
Teeth can be damaged when a breathing tube is placed or removed, especially if teeth are already loose, crowned or fragile.1 The anaesthetist should check your teeth beforehand. If a tooth is damaged, it should be recorded and explained.
Awareness
Awareness means becoming conscious during a general anaesthetic. It is rare.1 It can be very distressing, and people who experience it should be offered follow-up and psychological support.
Monitoring and breathing
During an anaesthetic, your oxygen levels, breathing, heart rate and blood pressure should be monitored continuously, and drops should be recognised and treated promptly. When oxygen to the brain falls for long enough, it can cause lasting brain injury. Our guide to hypoxic brain injury during surgery explains this in detail, and our guide to colonoscopy sedation covers sedation outside the operating theatre.
After an anaesthetic
Usually expected
- Sore throat
- Nausea
- Drowsiness for a day
In plain terms: uncomfortable, but settling.
Contact the hospital
- Numbness or weakness lasting beyond what you were told
- A damaged tooth
- Memories of being awake
- A severe headache after a spinal
In plain terms: ask for the anaesthetic team.
Emergency
- Breathing difficulty
- Swelling of the face or tongue
- Chest pain
- New confusion or weakness
In plain terms: call 000.
Your records
Ask specifically for the anaesthetic record, the pre-anaesthetic assessment and the recovery room notes, not just the operation note. Our guide to getting your medical records explains how, and our guide to open disclosure explains your right to an explanation.
Three months on, nerve studies showed damage to part of the nerve bundle in my neck. The neurologist said it might partly recover over a year or more.
When I got my anaesthetic record, it said the block had been done without ultrasound guidance, and that I’d had “paraesthesia on injection”, which I learned meant I’d felt a shooting sensation during the injection. I didn’t remember; I’d been sedated.
The consent form had a tick next to “nerve damage”. Nobody had explained what that meant.
My wife read the record with me at the kitchen table. “So it happened during the injection,” she said, “and nobody told you.” I still can’t pick up our youngest the way I used to.
A composite story, drawn from the experiences of many families I have worked with, combined and changed so that no one can be identified. It does not describe any individual client.
What to look for in the records
Your records are often where the story becomes clear. You have a right to access your own health information. In NSW the Health Records and Information Privacy Act 2002 covers both public and private providers, and the Information and Privacy Commission explains how to ask.2 Our step-by-step guide to getting your medical records in Australia walks you through it.
| Record | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Pre-anaesthetic assessment | Records your health, airway, teeth and the plan. |
| Consent form | Shows which risks were written down. |
| Anaesthetic record | Minute-by-minute oxygen, blood pressure, drugs and events. |
| Recovery room notes | Show how you were when you woke and any concerns. |
| Ward and follow-up notes | Show symptoms you reported and the response. |
| Specialist reports | Nerve studies or other tests showing the injury. |
| Your own diary, photos and messages | Notes made at the time are evidence too. Keep them. |
How the law looks at it
Many anaesthetic complications happen despite careful care, and a complication is not automatically negligence. The legal questions are whether you were properly assessed and informed, whether the anaesthetic was given and monitored to the expected standard, and whether problems were recognised and treated promptly.
A claim usually turns on three questions: whether the care fell below what peers would widely accept as competent practice (section 5O of the Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW))3, whether that shortfall probably caused harm you wouldn't otherwise have had (Tabet v Gett)4, and, where it matters, whether you were told the material risks first (Rogers v Whitaker)56. Our guide to how a medical negligence claim works explains each one in plain terms.
In an anaesthetic case, the questions might be: were your risk factors, teeth and airway assessed? Were the risks of the chosen technique, including any nerve block, explained? Was monitoring continuous, and were falls in oxygen or blood pressure acted on? Was the technique performed as a careful anaesthetist would? Was a problem afterwards followed up?
In plain terms, the question is whether careful assessment, technique or monitoring would probably have avoided or reduced the harm.
For an anaesthetic, that would usually include the common side effects and the rarer serious risks, including those of any nerve block, explained in a way you could understand.
Who can claim, and when
The person harmed can claim. If they have died, their family may have a claim. In NSW, time usually runs from when you knew, or ought to have known, enough to claim, not from the treatment itself, and courts can sometimes extend it, so an old injury may still count. See time limits in NSW or other states, and ask early.
More: complaint or claim? · how a claim is paid for · what a claim can cover
In my practice
In anaesthetic files, the anaesthetic record is usually the turning point. It shows, minute by minute, what happened while the person was unconscious: a drop in oxygen, a difficult airway, a sensation during an injection. People often find it hard to read, but once explained it can answer questions they have carried for years. The other common gap is follow-up: problems after a nerve block that nobody from anaesthetics checks on.
Both things can be true
Your anaesthetist may have been skilled and kind, and you may still have been harmed by something that should have been done differently. Anaesthesia is very safe overall, and your experience still matters.
The bigger picture
You can check a practitioner on the Ahpra public register,7 and complaints in NSW can go to the Health Care Complaints Commission.8 Our surgical errors and hospital negligence page brings together related guides.
Support
You don't have to work through this alone. These services can help:
- Lifeline, 24-hour crisis support: 13 11 14 (listed on healthdirect's helplines page)9
- Beyond Blue, anxiety and depression support: 1300 22 4636
- Medicare Mental Health, help finding mental health support: 1800 595 212
- healthdirect, 24-hour nurse advice: 1800 022 222
- Health Care Complaints Commission (NSW): 1800 043 159
A father who couldn’t lift his child now holds the record of what happened while he was asleep. You deserve that clarity too.
With care,
Rosemary
Frequently asked questions
What are the risks of a general anaesthetic?
Common: sore throat, nausea. Uncommon: dental damage. Rare: awareness, severe allergic reactions, malignant hyperthermia.
Can a nerve block cause permanent damage?
Rarely. One Sydney hospital quotes permanent nerve damage at about 0.01%.
Can an anaesthetic damage my teeth?
Yes, uncommonly, usually when a breathing tube is placed or removed.
What is an anaesthetic record?
The anaesthetist’s minute-by-minute chart of your vital signs, drugs and events.
Who should I contact about a problem after my anaesthetic?
Ask the hospital for the anaesthetic department, not only your surgeon.
Can I claim for an anaesthetic complication?
You may well have a claim if assessment, technique, monitoring or follow-up fell below the standard and caused harm.
Questions about your anaesthetic?
When you're ready, and not before, I can look at what happened and help you understand your options.
Surgical and hospital care guides
- “I woke up and something was wrong”: When an anaesthetic causes harm (you are here)
- “My oxygen dropped and nobody told me”: When colonoscopy sedation goes wrong
- Hypoxic brain injury during surgery or sedation
- “They said it was a pulled muscle”: Missed blood clots (DVT and PE)
- Sepsis and leg removal: when is that medical negligence?
Part of our guide to surgical errors and hospital negligence. Not sure where you stand? Try the free claim checker.
References
- Sydney Local Health District. Anaesthesia: a guide for patients, carers and families (RPA). November 2025.
- Information and Privacy Commission NSW. Fact sheet: Accessing your health information in NSW.
- Civil Liability Act 2002 (NSW) s 5O, Standard of care for professionals.
- Tabet v Gett [2010] HCA 12.
- Rogers v Whitaker [1992] HCA 58; (1992) 175 CLR 479.
- Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care. Informed consent.
- Australian Health Practitioner Regulation Agency. Register of practitioners.
- Health Care Complaints Commission NSW. Home page.
- healthdirect Australia. Mental health helplines.
Stories in this article are composites, drawn from the experiences of many families I have worked with, combined and changed so that no one can be identified. They do not describe any individual client.
Dr Rosemary Listing, PhD (Law), Medical negligence lawyer since 2014 · Of Counsel, Peter Evans & Associates. Rosemary's doctorate examined patterns of failure in medical negligence, and she teaches health law at the University of Newcastle. She is not medically qualified. About Rosemary.
Last updated: 10 November 2026 · First published: 10 November 2026 · Next review: May 2027
Cite this article: Listing R. “I woke up and something was wrong”: When an anaesthetic causes harm. Reframe Legal. Published 10 November 2026. https://reframelegal.com/anaesthetic-complications/
This article is general information, not legal or medical advice. It does not create a lawyer–client relationship. Speak to your treating clinicians about your health, and get legal advice about your own situation.
If you are in danger or need urgent medical help, call 000. For crisis support, call Lifeline on 13 11 14.
Legal services are provided by Peter Evans & Associates.
