Investigators Fault NYC Hospital for Surgical Fire

 State investigators have criticized New York City’s Langone Medical Center for serious safety lapses, which they say, resulted in an operating-room fire while a patient was undergoing surgery. According to a report in The New York Post, investigators said the incident was the result of a communications failure between the anesthesiologist and the surgeon. The probe by the New York Health Department into the 2014 fire found that the anesthesiologist had not been aware a certain instrument would be used during the surgery in the presence of oxygen. The New York Post obtained this report under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Lack of Communication
It was evident that the hospital failed to provide surgical services that conformed to current standards of practice, the report stated. The hospital also did not comply with federal laws governing surgery and anesthesia, investigators found. On Dec. 30, 2014, the Department of Health inspected the hospital and declared an “immediate jeopardy situation” because of these safety violations. The surgical fire in question occurred earlier that month and investigators said there was not much in terms of an expeditious plan to prevent the recurrence of burn injuries to patients undergoing surgery.
The patient’s name, the type of instrument that caused the fire and the date of the surgery during which the fire occurred, were not revealed in the report. However, it said that when the surgeon used the instrument in the presence of oxygen, there was a spark that caused the blaze. It is not clear to what extent the patient was injured. The patient was receiving oxygen through a mask connected to a wall outlet at the time. Even though the operating room staff told investigators they had assessed the risk of a fire before surgery, they gave no details of strategies or actions they implemented to prevent the actual occurrence of the fire.
Why Surgical Fires Occur
Surgical fires are traumatic events that can result in serious injury, scarring, disfigurement or even death. According to the ECRI Institute which studies ways to improve patient care, an estimated 550 to 650 surgical fires occur in the United States each year. While surgical fires are almost entirely preventable, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) continues to receive reports of surgical fires resulting in second- and third-degree patient burns. Also, fatalities may occur from operating room fires, especially when they involve the patient’s airway. Surgical fires often occur when there are three elements present:
• An ignition source such as a laser or fiber optic light source.
• A fuel source such as alcohol-based skin preparation agents and surgical drapes.
• An oxidizer such as oxygen, nitrous oxide or even the air in the room.
Most surgical fires happen when the concentration of oxygen is greater than in the ordinary room air and given to the patient through a mask or nasal tube, according to the FDA. Such errors can be prevented by proper communication among hospital and surgical staff. Surgical teams are expected to create and implement strategies to help prevent these types of mistakes which can definitely prove to be traumatic and devastating for patients and their families.
Medical Negligence
When doctors and medical professionals fail to exercise due care in the treatment of their patients, medical negligence is said to have occurred. The most common examples of medical negligence include mistakes made during surgery, misdiagnosis and medication errors. Victims of medical malpractice may be entitled to compensation for including, but not limited to, medical expenses, lost wages and benefits, permanent injuries, scarring and disfigurement, disabilities, past and future pain and suffering, etc. Families of victims who died because of medical errors may be able to seek compensation by filing a wrongful death lawsuit.
In order to prove a medical malpractice claim, plaintiffs must prove that:
• A doctor-patient relationship existed. This means that the plaintiff retained the services of the doctor and the doctor agreed to provide the services for which he or she was retained.
• The doctor or medical staff was actually negligent. Plaintiffs must be able to show that the doctor caused harm in a manner in which a competent doctor, under the same circumstances, would not have.
• The doctor’s negligence directly resulted in the patient’s injury.
• The injury led to specific damages.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
If you or a loved one has been injured in New York as a result of medical negligence, the experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can provide you with more information about pursuing your legal rights. Our clients have received verdicts of $43,940,000 and $23,500,000, respectively, in medical malpractice cases.
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury cases in New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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Source: http://nypost.com/2016/05/01/hospital-probed-after-patient-catches-fire-during-surgery/