What Are Never Events, and What Should I Do If I Face One?

 Posted on September 27,2024 in Medical Malpractice

Anyone can make a mistake, even doctors. However, some mistakes are so shocking that they should never happen. Termed "never events" in 2001, these medical errors are usually avoidable. Victims can face severe consequences, and the at-fault medical professionals should pay for their negligence.

What is a never event? What options do you have if one happens to you? The stalwart attorneys at Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Injury Law can help you get the maximum available compensation through a medical malpractice or wrongful death claim and hold the responsible parties accountable.

What is a Never Event?

These adverse medical events are typically preventable, clearly measurable, and cause significant harm or even death. The National Quality Forum maintains a list of never events, categorized by type. These include:

• Procedural or surgical: leaving an unintended foreign object in the patient’s body, performing the wrong procedure on a patient, and operating on the wrong body part or the wrong patient
• Device or product: using contaminated devices or drugs, using devices for an unintended purpose, and air embolisms in IVs
• Care management: using the wrong egg or donor sperm for artificial insemination, various medication errors, and serious injury or death in low-risk pregnancies

These and other never events happen rarely, but when they do, the patient can suffer significantly. Your lawyer from Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Injury Law can help you make the at-fault parties pay.

How Could a Never Event Affect You?

Whether the medical professional who harmed you was intoxicated, sleep-deprived, rushed, or incompetent, he or she should not have treated you if he or she was incapable of upholding the high care standards we expect of physicians. As a victim of a never event, you might:

• Go into surgery for a minor procedure and wake up with your leg amputated
• Carry a child with an unknown genetic makeup rather than yours and your partner’s
• Expect your left breast to be removed but come out of surgery missing your right breast
• Develop sepsis due to surgical gauze left inside your body
• Have a severe allergic reaction to medications administered in a hospital, causing heart failure
• Lose your spouse or child due to complications from contaminated medical devices

Although it seems impossible for mistakes like these to happen, they do. If you face a never-event situation, call Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Injury Law for your free consultation.

What Compensation Can You Receive After a Never Event?

Every situation is unique, and we must investigate yours thoroughly to determine what your damages might include. However, you may be entitled to:

• Medical expenses, current and future
• Lost income and diminished earning capacity
• Costs associated with ongoing care
• Pain and suffering
• Permanent disfigurement or disability
• Losing the ability to enjoy life

If your loved one passed away due to a never event, you may also receive funeral and burial expenses and damages for other eligible losses through a wrongful death action. You can trust Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Injury Law to assess your damages accurately and fight aggressively to see you receive all you are entitled to.

Call Our Determined Rockford, IL Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today

Cases involving a never event are complex, but Mannarino & Brasfield, A Division of Schwartz Injury Law has a proven track record of handling even the most challenging cases successfully. Call 815-215-7561 now for your free consultation with our dedicated Winnebago County, IL medical malpractice attorneys. You will not pay us fees unless we win your case.