Medical malpractice often revolves around never events. Generally speaking, these are things that should not happen under any circumstances. They are not inherent risks or potential outcomes. They are events that should not take place and occur only because of egregious mistakes made by medical professionals.
After all, many medical procedures do come with a certain level of risk. A surgeon who is going to carry out a procedure may inform the patient that there is a chance they could pass away during surgery. That is a known danger, and the patient accepts it when they elect to have the procedure. But if a never event takes place, it means that the surgeon made a crucial error that drastically increased the risk or caused direct injury to the patient.
What are some examples?
One of the most common examples of a never event is wrong-site surgery. This can happen when a surgeon operates on:
- The wrong patient
- The wrong body part
- The wrong side of the body
In some cases, this type of mistake can have a drastic impact on a patient’s life. For example, someone may suffer a serious injury to their left leg that requires amputation below the knee. If a mistake occurs during surgery and the surgeon operates on the wrong side of the body, they may amputate the patient’s right leg instead.
Not only would the patient still need to return to the hospital for the original amputation of their left leg, but they would also suffer permanent harm and a disability that could change the course of their life forever. This is not something that should ever happen and is not an inherent risk of the original surgery. As such, it is a never event that could result in a medical malpractice case.
Your legal options
Have you suffered harm because of mistakes made by medical professionals? If so, it is important to understand what legal options are available to seek appropriate compensation.