medical errors news stories on Newser

Wrong Patient Gets Kidney at USC Hospital

Rob Quinn — Fri, 18 Feb 2011 06:22:00 CST

USC University Hospital put its kidney transplant program on hold last month after it somehow managed to transplant a kidney into the wrong patient. Luckily for all concerned, the kidney happened to be an acceptable match for the patient, and he survived what could have been a deadly error, the...

Errors Push Surgeons to Consider Suicide

Kate Schwartz — Tue, 18 Jan 2011 12:58:05 CST

They're the ones we go to for help, but they may be the ones hurting: Surgeons contemplate suicide at a higher rate than the general public, according to a study of 8,000 surgeons: About 6% reported having recent suicidal thoughts, compared to 3% of the public. But the stat...

Brits Outraged Over Organ Donation Without Consent

M. Morris — Sun, 11 Apr 2010 15:14:00 CDT

Computer errors affecting the National Health Service's organ-donor registry led to the removal of organs from 21 people who had not given consent, and the UK health secretary has ordered "a review to find out why this has happened." The error in recording the preferences of 800,000 people was...

Obnoxious Docs Linked to Dangerous Mistakes

Katherine Thompson — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 09:37:00 CST

If your doctor's a jerk, it might be dangerous to your health. Many nurses are reporting that hostile, harried physicians often ignore their summons—or make them hesitant to questions in the first place. This "health care equivalent of road rage" causes errors, dangerous complications, and sometimes the patient's death,...

US Health Care Stinks: Study

Rob Quinn — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:33:34 CDT

The US health care system gets dismal grades in a ranking of 19 industrialized countries, Reuters reports. A private foundation looked at key indicators like efficiency and access, and found the US did very poorly despite spending the most money—putting it last on the list. Health-care dollars were squandered...

Hospital Owns Up to Wrong-Side Surgery

Kevin Spak — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 10:25:00 CDT

An experienced surgeon cut into the wrong side of his patient this week at a Boston hospital that has, coincidentally, been leading the crusade against medical mistakes. The hospital told its entire staff about the blunder, the fifth such wrong-side surgery Massachusetts has seen this year, the Boston Globe reports....

Quaids Sue Drug Firm Over OD

Robin Frost — Wed, 05 Dec 2007 09:00:00 CST

Actor Dennis Quaid and his wife filed a lawsuit against Baxter International, maker of the blood thinner Heparin, after their newborn twins nearly died of an overdose, the Chicago Tribune reports. The couple said Baxter was negligent because it packaged two different strengths of the drug, one a thousand times...

Doctors Are Sorry, Not Sued

Julia — Thu, 12 Apr 2007 09:33:36 CDT

Lawmakers in nine states want doctors to be able to say they're sorry. So-called "I'm-sorry" laws, already on the books in 27 states, allow doctors to apologize to patients when they make mistakes, or as expressions of sympathy, without fear of litigation.