How to fix incorrect routing to SMD transistor terminals
People make mistakes all the time, and learn with more experience not to do those things. After a few mistakes like this you check all of the pad layouts with the datasheet (sometimes this doesn't help because the datasheet can be wrong), regardless you need to do some rework.

You can cut traces, solder components by tacking them on to an existing pin (like an SMT resistor), and wire things together. The best thing is 30 gauge wire (usually comes in blue) it's small enough that for low current signals (like a 7mil trace or 10 mil trace) it makes a great substitute if you need some rework. You can also use high gauge wire for larger currents. 

Sometimes it's advantageous to buy the same part in a different package for prototyping. Like you said, don't short stuff out. You can even cut traces and solder bridge them back together, rework is a part of circuit design.


Source: Nexlogic.com

The time you can get in to trouble with prototyping is parasitics and differences between wires and traces. If your signal needs a particular resistance, inductance and capacitance then these differences will show when you change a trace for a wire and do some rework. These differences will be manifest in the miliohm, uH-nH range, and pf range which also means that high speed +40Mhz signals could have a problem. Large currents will also see a difference. 

The last thing is if the design operates in the uV to nV range there will be thermal noise introduced from the solder junctions of the wire (vs no thermal junctions with a plain copper trace on a PCB) 

The engineers at linear usually do all of their prototyping without PCB's at all and solder all of their components together. Something like this:

Source: http://www.computerhistory.org/atchm/an-analog-life-remembering-jim-williams/