“Never events” are those mistakes in medicine which, theoretically, should never occur. These include events like operating on the wrong patient, operating on the wrong body part, leaving foreign objects such as sponges inside a patient after surgery, allowing a patient to develop serious bed sores, and administering a patient the wrong medication or medication dosage. According to the National Quality Forum, a non-profit organization that develops national strategies for health care quality, “never events” are largely preventable.
As recently reported in the Wall Street Journal, however, a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine study found that these so-called “never events” actually occur more than 4,000 times a year in the United States. And, John Hopkins admits the number may actually be much higher. Nearly one-third of patients who are the victims of “never events” suffer permanent injuries, and six percent die.
If you believe you or a loved on have been the victim of a “never event” or other medical malpractice, contact Stark & Stark.
Michael Ksiazek is a member of Stark & Stark’s Yardley, PA office, concentrating in Accident & Personal Injury Law. For more information, please contact Mr. Ksiazek.