Psst...
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Medical errors are predictable
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Medical errors are preventable
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They are not accidents
For many years safety officials and public health authorities have discouraged use of the word “accident” when it refers to injuries or the events that produce them.
An accident is often understood to be unpredictable – a chance occurrence or an “Act of God” -- and therefore unavoidable.
However, disasters don't just happen. They are a chain of critical events. The Swiss cheese theory, i.e. when all the holes line up, a disaster is waiting to happen.
Most medical injuries and their precipitating events are predictable and preventable. They occur because of a chain of critical events breaks down.
“Accident” is inappropriate in reference to medical errors (as in medical accidents) and that its use in medical settings continues to mislead.
Medical Error Action Group discourages the “A” word.