Seattle Medical Malpractice Law Blog

To say that something should never happen may seem quite drastic (after all, human error has to be accounted for in almost any situation, right?). However, in certain areas, that should not be an unrealistic expectation. Healthcare is certainly one of them. Many of those that our team here at Miracle Pruzan & Pruzan have worked with in Seattle have failed to have that expectation met due to a medical or (worse yet) surgical mistake. If and when you suffer due to a surgical error, you might justly question how such a blunder could have even happened. 

The healthcare community asks the same question. According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, the National Quality Forum has defined shocking medical errors that not occur under any circumstances as "never events." Since first establishing this list in 2001, the number of events included in it has grown to the point of dividing them into different categories. Surgical errors make up a category all their own. 

As medical science continues to make advances in what is possible, another trend sadly continues. Patients in Washington State become the subjects of medical errors. In some situations, if they are lucky, people experience no injury or negative consequences from these errors. In other situations, however, serious injury and even death can occur. A new documentary is being released that attempts to highlight the grave nature of this reality.

The film is titled  and includes a series of interviews involving people who have personally been touched by a medical error as well as medical or industry professionals. Among the topics brought to life is communication about medical mistakes. Reports indicate that historically medical personnel have been instructed or trained not to speak about errors. Today, however, the paradigm is starting to shift and doctors and other health care workers are actively encouraged and trained to do so.

Despite an understandable desire to trust wholeheartedly in the care provided by doctors, nurses and other medical providers, Washington State residents know that they need to be proactive about their health care. This means they have to be aware of the fact that mistakes can and do happen. A poll conducted of patients by a group at the University of Chicago took a look at just what people have been experiencing in terms of medical errors today.

According to Beckers' Hospital Review, more than one out of every five people polled stated that they personally had experienced a mistake made by a health care professional involving themselves. Of these respondents, 32 percent reported learning about the mistakes from their health care provider, hospital, clinic or other facility. Another 45 percent said that they were the ones who informed health care providers or facilities of the errors.

Imagine you brought your husband or wife to the medical facility for a routine surgery, but something went wrong and your spouse died on the operating table. No one seems to know why and your doctor won't give you a straight answer. The only information you get is, "Sometimes things like this happen."

It's doubtful that you will ever rest until you find out what went wrong. And once you do find out what went wrong, you might want to pursue financial restitution to hold the at-fault doctors, hospital or medical attendants legally responsible for their negligence.