What was supposed to be a routine outpatient surgery for a Florida woman became a nightmare when a flash fire burned her face and neck.
29-year-old Kim Grice was going through surgery to remove some growths from her head, surgery that should have been routine and uneventful. Grice’s mother, Ann, was waiting in the hospital lobby for her daughter to when emergency crews and the fire department showed up.
The explanation by hospital staff that her daughter’s face had caught fire was not comforting to Ann.
“I am in shock,” Ann said. “This is not what happens with routine outpatient surgery.”
Operating room fires are not as rare as one would think. According to experts, at least 650 fires happen in operating rooms around the country each year. It is enough of a problem that the FDA is stepping in to increase safety awareness.
Launching a new initiative, the government organization has convened a special workshop to prevent fires from every happening, and looking to give medical personnel the tools necessary to deal with them if they do occur.
Mistakes happen in any profession, but when they occur in the medical community, it can be especially worrisome.
Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP – birth injury attorneys
