You'd be surprised how common it is to discover a surgical error where a sponge, knife, or needle was left in a patient's body. That's what this page examines. Our Virginia/Carolina medical malpractice lawyers discuss the law.

Virginia (VA) Medical Malpractice Lawyers
Offices in VA Beach, Hampton & Elizabeth City, NC

Every year, doctors and surgeons leave more than 1,500 items inside their patients by accident, according to WebMD. You read that right - 1,500 items are left inside a person's body. These items include:

Surgical medical clamps
Needles
Knives/knife blades
Sponges
Towels

While some of the surgical tools are found quickly following patient pain and an x-ray, others are left for months or years causing a second surgery or causing major medical complications such as infections.

Sponges, like the one shown here, are particularly problematic, because they cannot be easily discovered except by reopening the surgical cavity, and Virginia (VA) law does provide a special extension of the statute of limitations when the existence of the surgical tool or material is discovered at some later time.

A study in the January 16, 2003, issue of the New England Journal of Medicine sought to uncover some of the factors that increase a patient’s risk of having a sponge or other surgical item left inside them. Researchers found that emergency surgery increased the risk of retention by almost 900% and unexpected changes in the surgical procedure more than tripled the odds of object retention.

Other studies have suggested that item retention is due to surgical precautions that are not followed. Most commonly, a sponge miscount occurs. Four counts of the sponges are recommended. The first should occur when unpackaging the surgical tools/instruments. Before a surgery, one of the nurses attending the operating room is responsible for the second count of the sponges/towels. The third count should occur before the surgical cavity is closed. A final count should follow the surgery, when the same nurse is responsible for counting the sponges again to ensure that none were left in the surgical cavity. Error occurs, however, when the initial count is misreported, a simple miscount occurs, or the sponge tears or rips inside the surgical cavity in the body, and falls apart.

New technologies such as CT scanning, ultrasonography, and RFID tagging of the sponges are being developed to aid sponge counting. However, these technologies are currently cost-prohibitive or otherwise impractical at this point. This doesn't excuse a doctor from leaving a surgical item inside your body. This is an abhorrent form of medical negligence and if you or someone you know suffered injuries due to a surgical tool left in your body, please contact our law firm where you will receive a free consultation from a real lawyer.

For information about the statutes of limitations in medical malpractice cases in VA, click here, and for a discussion of the special “discovery rule” that applies to VA medical malpractice claims involving surgery sponges/tools left inside the body by a surgeon/doctor, click here.

Here are some additional articles that you may find interesting/informative...

Result of a case our law firm handled where a sponge was left inside a patient

RFID technology that could improve patient safety and reduce medical mistakes

Improper use of needles leads to Hepatitis C outbreak

World Health Organization checklist reduces medical malpractice

About the Editors: Shapiro, Lewis & Appleton is a Virginia injury law firm whose attorneys focus on personal injury and accident law and have extensive experience handling medical malpractice and doctor mistake cases. Please take a few moments to review our medical malpractice case results. We have offices in Virginia Beach and Hampton, VA, but we're ready to come to you anywhere in Virginia, including Norfolk, Portsmouth, Chesapeake, Newport News and Suffolk, VA, if you've been seriously hurt by the carelessness of a doctor, surgeon, nurse or pharmacist.

Rick Shapiro and James Lewis have been recognized as among the Best Lawyers in America since 2008. Also, Rick and Jim have been named Virginia Super Lawyers for Personal Injury Law since 2010. Fewer than 5 percent of lawyers are chosen for this professional honor.

Members of our VA personal injury law firm have also been selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum since 2009. In addition, we were the first injury law firm in Virginia to join Primerus, a select group of highly ethical and respected law firms. Our VA medical malpractice firm has the highest rating of AV from Martindale-Hubbell, a national lawyer ranking organization, which means we have a reputation for preeminent legal skill.

We offer free special reports on the Top 10 Tips from a Medical Malpractice Insider and the top five surgical errors you must know about.

While not every injury case meets our criteria, we offer free initial confidential injury case consultation, so call us toll free at (800) 752-0042. If you cannot get through due to high call volume, please leave a voicemail so we can return your call.

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You'd be surprised how common it is to discover a surgical error where a sponge, knife, or needle was left in a patient's body. That's what this page examines. Our Virginia/Carolina medical malpractice lawyers discuss the law.