Foreign Objects Left Inside Patients: What Victims and Families in Florida Need To Know
When you undergo surgery, the last thing you expect is to leave the operating room with a foreign object inside your body. Unfortunately, these occurrences are too common. Research suggests that the annual incidence of retained foreign objects after surgery is approximately 1 per 5,000 to 10,000 surgeries. When a foreign object is left inside your body after surgery, it can cause serious, life-threatening complications. In this article, we discuss what you need to know about the issue of foreign objects left in patients in Florida, from what foreign objects are, to why these mistakes happen, to the health risks associated with these mistakes, to what Florida law says about such cases.
What Are Foreign Objects?
A foreign object in the medical sense refers to any item that is unintentionally left inside a patient’s body after a medical procedure. These items don’t naturally belong in the human body and can cause severe, life-threatening complications. Examples of foreign objects include;
- Scissors and scalpels
- Needles
- Gauze
- Sponges
- Forceps or clamps
- Catheter fragments
Why Do These Mistakes Happen?
Retained foreign objects or foreign objects left inside the body have been termed “never events” in the medical field. What does this mean? It means that these incidents should never happen. Unfortunately, they occur at an alarming rate. It is not unheard of for a patient to leave a respected hospital with a foreign object in their body. So why do these errors happen?
Foreign objects may be left inside a patient’s body for various reasons, including the following;
- Incomplete or inaccurate surgical counts
- Poor communication during surgery
- Fatigue
- Distraction
- Outdated procedures
Often, these mistakes are preventable. In other words, cases involving retained foreign objects often warrant filing a medical malpractice claim.
The Consequences of Retained Foreign Objects
When a foreign object is left inside a patient’s body, it can have devastating consequences. Here are some of the possible outcomes;
- Severe/chronic pain and/or swelling
- Internal bleeding and organ damage
- Sepsis or other severe infections
- Lasting disability
- Death
Often, patients require another surgery to remove the object. This means additional medical expenses. Sadly, many people remain with lasting medical problems and emotional trauma.
What Does Florida Law Say?
In Florida, the law provides strong protections for victims of surgical errors, including those who discover foreign objects in their bodies. According to Florida Statutes section 766.102(3)(b), discovering a foreign body in the body is considered prima facie evidence of negligence. This means that in such cases, the law presumes malpractice occurred, and it is up to the defendant to prove otherwise.
This legal presumption makes cases involving foreign objects different from other malpractice cases, where the plaintiff generally has to prove that the medical provider breached the standard of care. If you were a victim of this type of medical negligence, the law is generally already on your side.
However, Florida law only gives you two years from the date you discovered the object or should have reasonably discovered it to file your malpractice claim.
Contact an Experienced Tampa Medical Malpractice Attorney
If you’ve suffered harm because of a retained foreign object, our skilled Tampa medical malpractice lawyers at Gunn Law Group P.A. can guide you through the legal process, protect your rights, and help you fight for the compensation you deserve. Contact us today to schedule a consultation.
Sources:
leg.state.fl.us/Statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0766/Sections/0766.102.html
pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10423772/#:~:text=Retained%20foreign%20objects%20(RFOs)%20after%20surgery%20are%20rare%20and%20serious%20patient%20safety%20events%20that%20can%20cause%20significant%20harm%20to%20patients.1%20The%20reported%20annual%20incidence%20of%20RFOs%20ranges%20from%20approx
