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A List of Unforgivable Medical Errors

Most of us never went to medical school. Most of us never attempted to pass the medical boards. Most of us have never made a diagnosis, or written a prescription, or performed surgery. When we find ourselves ill or hospitalized, we depend on our medical professionals to attend to us with all the professionalism and skill that they have.

Since we can hardly be expected to have the knowledge to cure ourselves, and since our recoveries from illness and injury depend on the skill of others, we can’t be expected to always know when we have been the victim of a medical or surgical error.

While some mistakes are minor and can be repaired with no harm or side effects to the patient, some errors are so grievous and obvious that there is absolutely no excuse for them ever occurring.

What follows is a list of unforgivable medical errors. The source of this list is a group called the National Quality Forum, which is dedicated to measuring health care quality in America.

If any of the following incidents occur to you or a loved one, you have grounds to file for damages. Contact our offices for a free legal consultation today.

Unforgivable Medical Errors  

1. Surgery on the wrong body part.

2. Surgery on the wrong patient.

3. Wrong surgical procedure performed on a patient.

4. Object left in patient after surgery.

5. Death of patient who had been generally healthy during or immediately after surgery for a localized problem.

6. Patient death or serious disability associated with the use of contaminated drugs, devices or biologics.

7. Patient death or serious disability associated with the misuse or malfunction of a device.

8. Patient death or serious disability associated with intravascular air embolism.

9. Infant discharged to wrong person.

10. Patient death or serious disability associated with patient disappearing for more than four hours.

11. Patient suicide or attempted suicide resulting in serious disability.

12. Patient death or serious disability associated with a medication error.

13. Patient death or serious disability associated with transfusion of blood or blood product of the wrong type.

14. Maternal death or serious disability associated with labor or delivery in a low-risk pregnancy.

15. Patient death or serious disability associated with the onset of hypoglycemia, a drop in blood sugar.

16. Death or serious disability associated with failure to identify and treat hyperbilirubinemia, a blood abnormality, in newborns.

17. Severe pressure ulcers acquired in the hospital.

18. Patient death or serious disability due to spinal manipulative therapy.

19. Patient death or serious disability associated with an electric shock.

20. Any incident in which a line designated for oxygen or other gas to be delivered to a patient contains the wrong gas or is contaminated by toxic substances.

21. Patient death or serious disability associated with a burn in the hospital.

22. Patient death associated with a fall suffered in the hospital.

23. Patient death or serious disability associated with the use of restraints or bedrails.

24. Any instance of care ordered by or provided by someone impersonating a physician, nurse, pharmacist or other licensed healthcare provider.

25. Abduction of a patient.

26. Sexual assault on a patient.

27. Death or significant injury of a patient or staff member resulting from a

physical assault in the hospital.

28. Artificial insemination with the wrong donor sperm or donor egg.

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