Surgical error claims cover technical errors during a procedure, wrong-site surgery, injury to adjacent structures, and postoperative management failures. Known complications are distinguished from negligent technique.
The operative report is the primary record.
Alternative Names:
Operative Error, Surgical Negligence
Why it Matters?
Recognized complication rates are the foundation of the defense, since injury to adjacent structures occurs at documented rates in properly performed procedures and the literature quantifying that is available for most operations. Establishing the incidence and that the surgeon recognized and managed the complication appropriately addresses both breach and any claim of postoperative failure. Wrong-site surgery falls outside that framework entirely.
Frequently Confused with
Related terms
Frequently asked questions
What distinguishes complication from negligence?
What falls outside that framework?
