Surgical procedures are sometimes necessary. People dealing with cardiac issues may require bypass procedures or an implanted device that could save their lives during cardiac arrest. Other times, surgery is the best treatment option available. Surgeries to address carpal tunnel and joint damage can have more of a positive impact than physical therapy or pain medication.
Whether a surgery is absolutely necessary or just the best option available, patients are at risk of adverse outcomes. After all, surgery is an inherently invasive medical process. Most surgeries are successful, and any issues that arise are minor.
However, major complications can occur during surgical procedures. Many of those issues are preventable. Patients might experience never events, which almost always lead to significant medical complications.
What is a never event?
Health care safety experts refer to errors that should never happen as never events. There are many different types of never events that can occur in a surgical theater, but three are particularly common.
Surgeons sometimes perform the wrong procedure. They may operate on the wrong body part. Leaving foreign objects behind inside a patient after the end of a procedure is also a never event. Proper protocol in the operating room should prevent any of those errors from occurring during a surgery.
What happens after a never event?
Frequently, never events cause immediate medical issues for the patient. If a patient undergoes the wrong procedure or the right procedure on the wrong body part, they may not be able to undergo the care that they actually require. Additionally, they may require a revision procedure, especially if a surgeon left a foreign object behind in their body.
Never events generally lead to worse medical outcomes and may also generate substantially higher medical costs. In some cases, never events culminate in a patient dying prematurely. Other times, they may have a much longer recovery or a permanent reduction in their functional capabilities.
Never events are typically indicative of medical malpractice. Other surgeons could easily avoid what occurred in the operating theater when a surgeon left items behind or made a mistake regarding the procedure itself.
Filing a medical malpractice lawsuit can compensate patients and grieving families affected by preventable surgical errors. When health care professionals make mistakes that harm their patients, they may be responsible for the consequences of their errors.