A newly released report by the Minnesota Health Department and the Minnesota Hospital Association reveals a record number of medical incidents during 2011 in which doctors performed the wrong procedure on a patient.
According to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, the report found that Minnesota hospitals reported 26 incidents in which doctors performed the wrong medical procedures on patients in 2011. Of those, 10 cases involved the wrong replacement joints, breast implants, or cataract lenses during a procedure. The number of 2011 incidents was the highest in the eight years that such errors have been ttracked by he state's hospitals.
"There have been cases with knee implants where they'll bring a cart into the OR that has both right and left knee implants on it," Diane Rydrych of the Minnesota Department of Health told the Star-Tribune. "If you're doing a right knee, you should probably only have a cart that has right knee implants on it."
The report noted that the adverse medical events increased from 305 in 2010 to a record high of 316 in 2011. It also reported five patient deaths: three from falls, one from a medication error, and one from a fatal air embolism.
If you or a loved one have suffered an adverse medical incident due to a doctor’s medical negligence, contact Sokolove Law today to learn more about potentially pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
General Medical Malpractice