Charleston, SC Car Accident Attorney The Hartman Law Firm

What is a Never Event?

A never event is a mistake without an excuse. According to the Agency for Healthcare and Research Quality, there are 29 errors defined as “never events.” They are grouped into different categories.
They include:

Care management – An error in administering medication or blood products administered in an unsafe manner that leads to serious injury or death, including harm to a mother or baby during labor or delivery in a low-risk pregnancy, artificial insemination with the incorrect sperm or donor egg, The loss of a biological specimen or harm to a patient as a result of failing to provide follow-up care. If a patient acquires stage 3 or 4 pressure ulcers (bed sores), or; If a patient fall when in a healthcare setting, it can be considered a care management event. Product/device – When a medical device is used in an incorrect manner or when a medical device is misused or a tainted medical device or drug is used and causes death.

Patient protection – When a care facility releases a patient who cannot care for himself to someone other than an authorized person, The disappearance of a patient that leads to disability or death or, The suicide or attempted suicide of a patient that occurs while the patient is being cared for in a healthcare facility. Environmental – examples include: electrical shock, oxygen lines containing no gas or the incorrect gas, burn injuries, and the use of bed restraints that cause serious injury or death. Radiological events – When a negligent person allows for the introduction of a metallic object during an MRI, causing death or serious bodily injury.

Surgical error – For example, when surgery is performed on an incorrect body part or the incorrect patient, the incorrect surgery is performed, or a foreign object such as a surgical sponge or medical device is left inside of a patient’s body. Criminal events – Care provided by someone impersonating a health doctor, abduction of a patient, sexual abuse of a patient by a health doctor or physical assault of a patient in a healthcare setting. These things should not ever occur in a healthcare setting and when they do, the doctor, or healthcare facility can be held legally liable for the consequences.

A recent study, based on data collected between 1990 and 2010, indicates around 80,000 never events have occurred in the U.S. during that time.
According to the study:

• Patients underwent the incorrect procedure 20 times a week.
• The incorrect body part was operated on 20 times a week.
• Surgeons left foreign objects in a patient 49 times a week.
• Not surprisingly, surgeons that had a history of malpractice made it more likely that one of these events would occur.

Frequent Errors in Hospital Emergency Rooms

There are approximately 136.1 million emergency room visits in the U.S. every year. That statistic means for every 100 people there are 45 visits to an ER in any given year. Meanwhile, with the recent changes to health care in the United States, it is likely the volume of people seeking treatment at the ER is going to continue increasing. According to a recent Wall Street Journal, 37 to 55 percent of emergency room negligence cases arise from diagnostic errors.
Other frequent ER errors include:

• Misdiagnosis of symptoms
• Delayed diagnosis (for instance, failing to report a positive result from a cancer test)
• Failure to supervise medical staff, allowing them to diagnose ( such as a registered nurse or physician’s assistant)
• Failure to order or to properly read tests
• Inadequate staff to treat patients and/or monitor patients’ symptoms
• Failure to follow guidelines dictating proper medication procedures or to maintain cleanliness in the establishment (a recent study found that 90 percent of hospital deaths are as a result of medical errors caused by failing to follow systems and procedures)
• The hurried environment of an emergency room does not allow doctors and other medical staff to fail to diagnose, delay diagnosis, fail to order or properly read relevant tests, provide inadequate staffing, or fail to follow dictated guidelines intended to protect patients. Such emergency room errors may constitute medical negligence or medical malpractice if a patient is harmed.
• An emergency room error attorney with experience in medical malpractice claims can help evaluate the circumstances of your or your loved one’s injury. A lawyer will work with medical experts to evaluate whether healthcare standards were met and advise you of your legal options.