Surgical errors can negatively harm the patients who are seeking care for a medical condition. With the exception of an emergency procedure, the patients usually carefully consider their choices for the person who will perform the surgery. They should remember that even the most experienced surgeon can make errors in the operating room.
It is probable that experienced surgeons will make errors, and one study noted that these cases often involved a surgeon with experience. The issue that comes into the picture is the complexity of the case. System factors are present in the majority of cases, so surgeons must do what they can to minimize these.
System factors are sometimes known as technical errors. They have to do with the human failures that are often predictable. Using these predictive factors, the system used within the surgical program must be changed so that these issues aren’t continually occurring. For example, limiting the operating hours that a surgeon can perform before being relieved of duty to take a rest break can help when the underlying, predictable factor is surgeon fatigue.
All surgical programs have to account for latent errors, which are those that are hiding in wait and are often due to lack of planning and protocol. They also must account for active errors, which occur during medical professional to patient or medical professional to machine encounters. Some people refer to the active errors are sharp errors and the latent ones as blunt errors.
Regardless of how they care referred to, all of these errors in the operating room can lead to lasting harm for the patient. These innocent victims might choose to seek compensation for the injuries they suffer at the hands of medical professionals.
