Uptick in Surgical Fires Prompts Concern, Requires Action
March 1, 2024
A recent report on operating room (OR) fire safety warns that the risk of flash fires is a growing concern as hospitals see more use of high-tech and high-temperature devices in oxygen-rich settings.
Approximately 650 OR fire events are reported in the United States each year, according to the report from Chubb, an insurance company in New York City. In addition to the physical risk to patients and clinicians, organizations can face reputational damage and significant liability exposure, the report authors noted.
Chubb cited one recent study of 139 lawsuits involving operative burns and surgical fires that revealed 60 of the incidents resulted in a plaintiff settlement or verdict, with damage awards as high as $518,000 and a median payout of $215,000.
“With the current litigation environment returning ‘nuclear’ verdicts aided by social inflation, damage awards have the potential to increase substantially,” the report authors cautioned. They noted that The Joint Commission requires accredited organizations to report OR fires under its Sentinel Event policy. (The report is available online at: https://bit.ly/42ujZvO.)
The insurer began investigating OR fires and creating the report as a helpful resource after seeing an uptick in OR fire reports in the last two years, says Diane Doherty, MS, CPHRM, senior vice president for the Healthcare Industry Practice at Chubb.
“We hope that risk managers take these resources that we have and bring it back to their organization, their safety committees, and say, ‘We’re starting to see an uptick. What else can we do? Are we making sure that we recommit ourselves to surgical fire prevention, conduct, maybe a pre-risk assessment, and those response protocols?’” Doherty says. “‘Are we always up to date as we can be with new technologies with new antiseptic solutions? Are we making sure we have everything that we need to prevent a fire?’”
A key goal is ensuring staff understand the risks of fire in the OR and how it happens, says Caroline Clouser, CPCU, executive vice president for the Healthcare Industry Practice at Chubb.
“We have to remind them that there are ignition sources in the operating room and things that can ignite that very easily. Nothing has changed in the surgical procedures drastically to add that exposure. There have been some small changes, like the increased use of cauterization,” Clouser says “It’s about making sure that, yes, the heat element is important, the other products are important, but it’s putting them together that creates fire.”
SOURCES
- Caroline Clouser, CPCU, Executive Vice President, Healthcare Industry Practice, Chubb, New York City. Phone: (212) 827-4400.
- Diane Doherty, MS, CPHRM, Senior Vice President, Healthcare Industry Practice, Chubb, New York City. Phone: (212) 703-7120. Email: [email protected].
A recent report on operating room fire safety warns that the risk of flash fires is a growing concern as hospitals see more use of high-tech and high-temperature devices in oxygen-rich settings.
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