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New Report on Medical Errors: Wrong-Site Surgery

Last year I posted an update on a frightening trend: surgery being performed on the wrong body part, or even on the wrong patient.

Since then, an ophthalmologist here in Portland operated on the wrong eye of a 4-year-old. This should never happen: in 2004, the Joint Commission (the group that certifies health care providers) issued a set of rules to prevent these surgical errors.

These rules were supposed to be mandatory for surgeries, but Kaiser Health News reports “Based on state data, Joint Commission officials estimate that wrong-site surgery occurs 40 times a week in U.S. hospitals and clinics.”

How does this keep happening? While some wrong-site errors inflict no lasting harm—either because they are corrected early or did not involve a major surgery—others are catastrophic.

Although medical mistakes can happen to cautious and prepared surgeons, it is alarming that they continue at this rate despite universal medical protocol in place to prevent these tragedies. Should this be attributed to the culture of silence in the medical community?

About the <span>Author</span>

About the Author

Tom D'Amore is the founder of D'Amore Law Group and a trial attorney with over 30 years of experience representing injured people and their families across the West Coast, securing more than $325 million in recoveries. He handles cases involving car accidents, trucking accidents, construction injuries, medical malpractice, and sexual abuse. Licensed in Oregon, Washington, and California, Tom is the only NBTA board-certified truck accident attorney in Oregon. He is a national Board of Governors member, past Executive Committee member, and past Budget and Audit Chair of the American Association for Justice, as well as past President of the Oregon Trial Lawyers Association and an Eagle member of the Washington State Association for Justice.
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