A 70-year-old man from Alabama recently died at a hospital in Florida when a surgeon mistakenly removed his liver instead of his spleen.
This type of medical error is known as a “never event” because it should never have happened. Unfortunately, they happen all too often.
Never events range from the wrong organ or side being operated on, the wrong prosthesis (such as hip joints) being inserted, to foreign objects (typically surgical instruments and swabs) being left inside the patient.
