Law.com Subscribers SAVE 30%

Call 855-808-4530 or email [email protected] to receive your discount on a new subscription.

Medical Malpractice Law & StrategyKickerFeaturesTopicsLitigationSectionsNewsLJN Newsletters

The Relevance of 'Never Events' in Medical Malpractice Litigation

By John Ratkowitz and Robert Sanfilippo
August 26, 2010

The National Quality Forum, a nonprofit organization that aspires to set priorities and goals for improvement in health care in the United States, established the concept of “Never Events” in 2001, which consists of a list of serious complications that should never occur in a safe hospital. Arnold Milstein, Ending Extra Payments for “Never Events” ' Stronger Incentives for Patients Safety, 360 (23) New Eng. J. Med. 2388, 2388-90 (2009).

On Feb. 8, 2006, President George W. Bush signed the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, Section 501(c) of Pub. L. 109-171, instructing the Department of Health and Human Services (the Department) to create its own list of Never Events, so that Medicare payments could be decreased when preventable complications occur in hospitals. To that end, on Oct. 1, 2008, the Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) identified eight categories of complications for which it would no longer reimburse hospitals if they developed during a hospital admission. With later expansions, the list now includes:

  • foreign objects left in the body after surgery;
  • air emboli;
  • infusion of incompatible blood;
  • falls and traumas;
  • catheter-associated urinary tract infections;
  • mediastinitis after coronary-artery bypass grafting;
  • certain infusion associated infections;
  • pressure ulcers;
  • poor glycemic control;
  • deep-vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism associated with knee or hip replacement surgery; and
  • certain orthopedic and bariatric surgical-site infections.

Additional Considerations

This premium content is locked for LJN Newsletters subscribers only

  • Stay current on the latest information, rulings, regulations, and trends
  • Includes practical, must-have information on copyrights, royalties, AI, and more
  • Tap into expert guidance from top entertainment lawyers and experts

For enterprise-wide or corporate acess, please contact Customer Service at [email protected] or 877-256-2473

Read These Next
The DOJ's Corporate Enforcement Policy: One Year Later Image

The DOJ's Criminal Division issued three declinations since the issuance of the revised CEP a year ago. Review of these cases gives insight into DOJ's implementation of the new policy in practice.

The DOJ's New Parameters for Evaluating Corporate Compliance Programs Image

The parameters set forth in the DOJ's memorandum have implications not only for the government's evaluation of compliance programs in the context of criminal charging decisions, but also for how defense counsel structure their conference-room advocacy seeking declinations or lesser sanctions in both criminal and civil investigations.

Use of Deferred Prosecution Agreements In White Collar Investigations Image

This article discusses the practical and policy reasons for the use of DPAs and NPAs in white-collar criminal investigations, and considers the NDAA's new reporting provision and its relationship with other efforts to enhance transparency in DOJ decision-making.

Bankruptcy Sales: Finding a Diamond In the Rough Image

There is no efficient market for the sale of bankruptcy assets. Inefficient markets yield a transactional drag, potentially dampening the ability of debtors and trustees to maximize value for creditors. This article identifies ways in which investors may more easily discover bankruptcy asset sales.

Compliance Officers: Recent Regulatory Guidance and Enforcement Actions and Mitigating the Risk of Personal Liability Image

This article explores legal developments over the past year that may impact compliance officer personal liability.