PMID- 26492906
OWN - NLM
STAT- MEDLINE
DCOM- 20160130
LR  - 20181113
IS  - 1478-7083 (Electronic)
IS  - 0035-8843 (Print)
IS  - 0035-8843 (Linking)
VI  - 97
IP  - 8
DP  - 2015 Nov
TI  - Litigation costs of wrong-site surgery and other non-technical errors in 
      orthopaedic operating theatres.
PG  - 592-7
LID - 10.1308/rcsann.2015.0045 [doi]
AB  - INTRODUCTION: This study reviews the litigation costs of avoidable errors in 
      orthopaedic operating theatres (OOTs) in England and Wales from 1995 to 2010 
      using the National Health Service Litigation Authority Database. MATERIALS AND 
      METHODS: Litigation specifically against non-technical errors (NTEs) in OOTs and 
      issues regarding obtaining adequate consent was identified and analysed for the 
      year of incident, compensation fee, cost of legal defence, and likelihood of 
      compensation. RESULTS: There were 550 claims relating to consent and NTEs in 
      OOTs. Negligence was related to consent (n=126), wrong-site surgery (104), 
      injuries in the OOT (54), foreign body left in situ (54), diathermy and 
      skin-preparation burns (54), operator error (40), incorrect equipment (25), 
      medication errors (15) and tourniquet injuries (10). Mean cost per claim was 
       pound40,322. Cumulative cost for all cases was  pound20 million. Wrong-site surgery was 
      error that elicited the most successful litigation (89% of cases). Litigation 
      relating to implantation of an incorrect prosthesis (eg right-sided prosthesis in 
      a left knee) cost  pound2.9 million. Prevalence of litigation against NTEs has 
      declined since 2007. CONCLUSIONS: Improved patient-safety strategies such as the 
      World Health Organization Surgical Checklist may be responsible for the recent 
      reduction in prevalence of litigation for NTEs. However, addition of a specific 
      feature in orthopaedic surgery, an 'implant time-out' could translate into a cost 
      benefit for National Health Service hospital trusts and improve patient safety.
FAU - Harrison, W D
AU  - Harrison WD
AD  - Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, Liverpool , UK.
FAU - Narayan, B
AU  - Narayan B
AD  - Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, Liverpool , UK.
FAU - Newton, A W
AU  - Newton AW
AD  - Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, Liverpool , UK.
FAU - Banks, J V
AU  - Banks JV
AD  - Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, Liverpool , UK.
FAU - Cheung, G
AU  - Cheung G
AD  - Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals, Liverpool , UK.
LA  - eng
PT  - Journal Article
PT  - Multicenter Study
PL  - England
TA  - Ann R Coll Surg Engl
JT  - Annals of the Royal College of Surgeons of England
JID - 7506860
SB  - IM
MH  - Costs and Cost Analysis
MH  - Humans
MH  - Liability, Legal/*economics
MH  - Malpractice/*legislation & jurisprudence
MH  - Medical Errors/economics/*legislation & jurisprudence
MH  - *Operating Rooms
MH  - Orthopedic Procedures/economics/*legislation & jurisprudence
MH  - Patient Safety/*economics
MH  - United Kingdom
PMC - PMC5096619
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - Consent; Wrong-site surgery
OT  - Litigation
OT  - Negligence
OT  - Orthopaedic
OT  - Patient safety
EDAT- 2015/10/24 06:00
MHDA- 2016/01/31 06:00
PMCR- 2015/11/01
CRDT- 2015/10/24 06:00
PHST- 2015/10/24 06:00 [entrez]
PHST- 2015/10/24 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2016/01/31 06:00 [medline]
PHST- 2015/11/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 2015.0045 [pii]
AID - 10.1308/rcsann.2015.0045 [doi]
PST - ppublish
SO  - Ann R Coll Surg Engl. 2015 Nov;97(8):592-7. doi: 10.1308/rcsann.2015.0045.