Bad Medical Mistakes - 28 "Never Events"

The National Quality Forum (NQF) has published a list of "never events"--serious, preventable medical errors that should never be allowed to occur. If you or a loved one has been a victim of a "never event" you may have a medical malpractice claim against the responsible healthcare providers. Our firm assesses potential malpractice cases at no charge, and handles meritorious cases on contingent fees, advancing all costs at our risk in accordance with Connecticut law.

The NQF current list of 28 "never events" consists of:

1. Surgery on the wrong body part.
2. Surgery on the wrong patient.
3. Wrong surgical procedure performed on a patient.
4. Foreign object unintentionally left in patient after surgery.
5. Death of an otherwise healthy patient during or immediately after surgery.
6. Patient death or serious disability associated with the use of contaminated drugs, devices or biologics provided by the healthcare facility.
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 (injection or introduction of air into the bloodstream).
9. Infant discharged to wrong person.
10. Patient death or serious disability associated with patient elopement or disappearance for more than four hours.
11. Patient suicide or attempted suicide resulting in serious disability while being cared for in a healthcare facility.
12. Patient death or serious disability associated with a medication error, including wrong drug, wrong dose, wrong patient, wrong time, wrong rate, wrong preparation, or wrong route of administration.
13. Patient death or serious disability associated with transfusion of blood or blood product of the wrong type (hemolytic reaction, due to ABO/HLA incompatible blood or blood products).
14. Death or serious disability of mother 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, while being cared for in a health care facility.
16. Death or serious disability associated with failure to identify and treat hyperbilirubinemia, a blood abnormality, in newborns.
17. Severe (Stage 3 or 4) 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 (including elective cardioversion) in a healthcare facility.
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 or serious disability 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 in a healthcare facility.
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.

The "never event" list is published by NQF, a partnership of about 375 governmental and private organizations involved in providing and paying for health care for Americans, including large corporations, insurers, medical specialty organizations, hospitals, drug companies, unions, charities, and government agencies. Its Connecticut members include Connecticut Hospital Association, St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center, and Yale New Haven Health System. It is dedicated to improving the quality of health care in the United States.

Not every "never event" gives rise to a meritorious malpractice case. Each case must be evaluated on its merits for liability, causation and damages. We are committed to making fair and timely evaluations of potential malpractice cases at no cost to the client.

For further information about NQF, visit http://www.qualityforum.org/