Surgical error compensation claims as a patient safety indicator: Causes and economic consequences in the Murcia health system, 2002 to 2018 (June 2022)

Summary

Compensation claims are a useful source of information on patient safety research. This study in The Journal of Patient Safety aimed to determine the main causes of surgical compensation claims and their financial impact on the health system. The authors analysed the frequency, causes, consequences, locations and surgical settings of compensation claims brought against the surgical area of the Murcia Health System between 2002 and 2018.

The study found that the most frequent causes for claims were surgical error (42.4%) and treatment error (30.9%), and that the main surgical settings involved were orthopaedic surgery and traumatology (27.4%), gynaecology and obstetrics (25.7%) and “general surgery” (17.2%).