[suffusion-widgets id=’3′]
Everyone makes mistakes, even doctors, and under the law, just because a doctor made a mistake does not mean the doctor committed medical negligence. In other words, not every mistake is actionable. That’s the way it should be. However, there are some medical mistakes that just shouldn’t happen. They actually have a name, “never” events.
“Never” events include the following kinds of surgical mistakes:
- operating on the wrong body part,
- performing the wrong procedure,
- operating on the wrong patient,
- leaving a surgical tool in a patient, and
- leaving surgical material, such as a sponge or tie, in a patient.
These kinds of mistakes are shocking, so shocking that many people believe they are rare. But, they aren’t rare. In fact, researchers at Johns Hopkins estimate that “never” events occur roughly 4000 times per year. That’s over 10 times a day. Read more about the prevalence of never events.
These are the kinds of events that simply should not occur. Patients who undergo surgery trust their doctors and hospitals that these kinds of events won’t occur. It’s up to hospitals to have proper procedures in place to ensure they don’t; however, many hospitals have outdated procedures or don’t have any procedures at all.
“Never” events often result in serious injury to the patient such as additional, invasive treatment or worse, death. Medical negligence laws allow the patient or his or her surviving family members to recover in tort and receive fair financial compensation for medical negligence.
Related Medical Malpractice Legal Articles:
- Philadelphia Hospital Safety Scores
- Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Cases Involving Medical Devices
- Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Law – The Discovery Rule & The Statute of Limitations
MORE: Access our legal library of medical malpractice articles, FAQs and blog posts.
Pennsylvania & New Jersey Medical Malpractice Lawyers
If you or a loved one was the victimof a never event, contact our medical malpractice lawyers for a free, initial consultation. Click To Call
Our medical malpractice attorneys serve victims in the following areas: Allegheny County, PA; Berks County, PA; Bucks County, PA; Chester County, PA; Delaware County, PA; Lehigh County, PA; Montgomery County, PA; Northampton County, PA: Philadelphia County, PA; Atlantic County, NJ; Burlington County, NJ; Camden County, NJ; Cumberland County, NJ; Gloucester County, NJ; Salem County, NJ; New Castle County, DE; he County, DE; Atlantic City, NJ; Philadelphia, PA; Pittsburgh, PA; Newark, NJ; Doylestown, PA; Media, PA; West Chester, PA; Norristown, PA; Camden, NJ; Wilmington, DE; Newark, DE; Georgetown, DE; and New Castle, DE. Our lawyers can obtain special admission in other states on a case by case basis.
**This website does not provide legal advice. Every case is unique and it is crucial to get a qualified, expert legal opinion prior to making any decisions about your case. See the full disclaimer at the bottom of this page.
