Adverse Medical Events 2005

In 2003, the Minnesota legislature enacted the Minnesota Adverse Health Care Events Reporting Act (Minnesota Statutes Chapter 144, Sections 144.706-144.7069). This law requires hospitals and outpatient surgical centers to report certain adverse health events to the commissioner of health, conduct a root-cause analysis of the event, and take corrective action if necessary.

The commissioner of health is required to file an annual public report regarding the adverse health care events. The report for adverse health events from October 7, 2004 – October 6, 2005, was released in February 2006 and can be found on the Minnesota Department of Health website. According to the report, “Consumers should use this report to identify situations of interest to them and then ask providers what is being done in their facility to prevent this type of event from occurring.”

The statistics in the report are those that were reported. One can assume that other adverse health events went unreported. The following are some of the statistics in the report:

Surgery on the wrong body part – 16 events (including one at Children's Hospitals and Clinics of Minnesota, St. Paul); 1 serious disability
Surgery on the wrong patient – 2 events (including one at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, Minnesota)
Wrong surgical procedure – 8 events (including one at Fairview Southdale Hospital in Edina and one at Gillette Children's Specialty Care in St. Paul)
Retention of foreign object in patient after surgery or other procedure – 26 events (including one at North Memorial Medical Center)
Inra/post operating death – 1 event
Contaminated drugs, devices or biologics – 1 event; 1 death
Misuse or malfunction of device – 4 events; 3 deaths
Intravascular Air Embolism – 1 event; 1 death
Death or disability due to medication error – 7 events (including 3 events at St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester that resulted in serious injury and death) ; 6 serious disabilities and 1 death
Death or disability due to hypoglycemia – 1 event; 1 death
Death or disability associated with a fall – 3 events; 3 deaths
Death or disability associated with restraints – 1 event; 1 serious disability
Sexual assault – 2 events
Injury from physical assault – 1 event

As noted, the above are only the reported cases.

Adverse Heath Events and Minnesota Medical Malpractice: Lawyer and Free Consultation
If you have been involved in an adverse medical event and have questions about Minnesota medical malpractice, a lawyer at Pritzker | Ruohonen, a nationally-recognized law firm with offices in Minneapolis, Minnesota, is available for a free consultation. You may reach us toll-free at 1-888-377-8900 or fill in our online consultation form.

Senior partner Minnesota personal injury lawyer Fred Pritzker has over 29 years of experience and focuses his practice on complex medical and product liability cases. In recognition of his achievements, other lawyers have selected him for inclusion in the 2005-2006 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. He has also been named a "Top 100 Super Lawyer." He has written online information on medical malpractice in hospitals and defective medical product lawsuits.

Free Case Consultation

Medical Malpractice Topics

Pain and Suffering

Rich Ruohonen recently chaired a legal seminar on obtaining compensation for pain and suffering in a personal injury case. Rich uses his knowledge, experience, and reputation to maximize recoveries for clients.

$950,000 Recovery for Failure to Diagnose Septic Arthritis

Pritzker | Ruohonen attorneys Fred Pritzker and Elliot Olsen recently secured a $950,000 recovery on behalf of a young man who developed septic arthritis eight days following knee surgery.

Pritzker | Ruohonen Newsletter

Pritzker | Ruohonen is now publishing its newsletters online. Sign up today to receive the newsletter via email. Read our newsletters: Feb/March 2008 and April/May 2008.

Dental Malpractice: Oral Surgery and Burn Injuries

The FDA has recently stated that poorly-maintained dental equipment has resulted in severe burns. These cases could involve both dental malpractice and product liability claims.

Hospital Malpractice Lawsuits

Hospital malpractice includes any type of medical negligence that occurs in a hospital setting, including errors by doctors, nurses, technicians and other hospital staff.

Neurosurgery Errors

Surgical errors are common and can lead to serious injury or death. In an article in the medical journal Neurosurgery that reported on a study of 1108 elective neurosurgical procedures, a neurosurgeon recorded 2684 errors in 87.1% of the cases. 22.6% of the errors were considered major. 78.5% of the errors were deemed preventable.