In the medical field, "never events" are occurrences for which there is universal professional agreement that they should never happen during surgery. Examples of never events include leaving a foreign object inside a patient's body, performing the wrong procedure on a patient, and operating on the wrong body part. Because never events are devastating and preventable, health care organizations are under increasing pressure to eliminate them completely.
Now, John Hopkins Medicine has released findings (thought to be the first of their kind) that quantify the rate of never events in United States hospitals. Researchers used the National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB), a federal repository of medical malpractice claims, to identify malpractice judgments and out-of-court settlements related to never events. They say the NPDB is the best source of information about malpractice claims for never events because "these are not the sort of claims for which frivolous lawsuits are filed or settlements made to avoid jury trials."
The results of the study show that never events are hardly living up to their name, with an alarming number of preventable mishaps causing injury, and even death, to patients. Findings include:
- Approximately 80,000 never events occurred in American hospitals between 1990 and 2010.
- Approximately 4,044 surgical never events occur in the United States each year.
- A surgeon leaves a foreign object, such as a sponge or towel, inside a patient's body after an operation 39 times a week.
- A surgeon performs the wrong procedure on a patient 20 times a week.
- A surgeon operates on the wrong body site 20 times a week.
The researchers also note that these estimates are most likely on the low side because not all items left behind after surgery are discovered—"typically, they are found only when a patient experiences a complication after surgery and efforts are made to find out why."
The study concludes that, in order to prevent never events, patient safety procedures, such as surgical checklists, need to be rigorously followed, and better reporting systems may be needed to speed up safety efforts. Public reporting of never events could also work to "put hospitals under the gun to make things safer."
Talk to an Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorney in Denver
If a health care provider's mistake or oversight harmed you or a loved one during or after surgery, you may be entitled to compensation for your damages. In Colorado, contact the Denver law firm of Paulsen & Armitage, LLC for a free initial consultation to discuss a potential medical malpractice claim in your case.
