Home -> Law Blog Directory -> Personal Injury Law Blogs -> New York City Personal Injury Lawyer

Personal Injury Law

: New York City Personal Injury Lawyer

Woman Who Caught Fire during Surgery Brings Operating Room Flash Fires into National Spotlight

By Paul Napoli

The story of a woman in Oklahoma who caught fire during surgery has once again put the issue of operating room fires in the national spotlight. AOL News ran a story first reported by the Tulsa, OK news station The News on 6.

While undergoing breast reconstructive surgery last December at Saint John Medical Center, Connie Plumlee, double mastectomy patient and breast cancer survivor, caught on fire.

Plumlee, represented by Tulsa-based attorney Clark Brewster, has filed a suit against her surgeon Dr. Brad Garber.

She claims in the suit that Dr. Garber swabbed her with alcohol during the procedure and then utilized a cauterizing tool. A flash fire occurred, catching the drapes and Plumlee on fire. She suffered severe burns to her face, mouth and tongue, and permanent facial disfigurement caused when the oxygen tube in her mouth melted.

Just how often do operating room fires occur?

In an April 23, 2008 release, The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) estimated that there are 50 to 200 operating room fires yearly in the United States. 'Without a national reporting system for OR fires, it is hard to gauge the exact number that occur each year,' said Robert A. Caplan, M.D., chair of the ASA Task Force on Operating Room Fires. The organization points out that there are more than 28 million surgeries performed annually in the U.S.

However, ECRI Institute, an independent nonprofit organization that researches the best approaches to improving patient care, estimated 550 to 650 operating room fires happen annually in the U.S., often leading to disfigurement, disability or death.

ECRI Institute worked in collaboration with the Anesthesia Patient Safety Foundation (APSF) to release new recommendations for preventing surgical fires, detailing the changed in the article 'New Clinical Guide to Surgical Fire Prevention,' published in the ECRI Institute's October issue of Health Devices.

'As the oxygen concentration increases in an area, so will the risk of fire,' explains Mark Bruley, BS, CCE, vice president, accident and forensic investigation, ECRI Institute in an October 22, 20009 news release. 'Fires in oxygen-enriched atmospheres ignite much more easily, burn hotter and spread more quickly. The goal is to stop open oxygen delivery for surgery around the head and upper chest. For exceptional cases, which are detailed in the new guidance, delivery of the minimum concentration of oxygen necessary to maintain adequate blood oxygen saturation is recommended."

Hospital negligence can result in serious injuries and even deaths. If you have been injured as the result of negligence while you were a patient in a hospital, or if a loved one died due to hospital negligence, you may be able to file a claim and collect compensation for pain and suffering, lost wages, medical expenses and other losses. Some of the most common forms of hospital negligence include wrong-site surgeries, medication errors, surgical errors, development of hospital-acquired infections, improper use of anesthesia, improper treatment of a diagnosed medical condition, failure to monitor or stabilize a patient, or improper use of a medical device. Call Napoli Bern Ripka, LLP at 888-529-4669 today to discuss your legal options.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Paul Napoli

Full post as published by New York City Personal Injury Lawyer on April 06, 2010 (boomark / email).