Spinal surgery claims cost MDU £9 million

The MDU’s analysis of 255 claims from orthopaedic surgeons’ independent practice, published in the latest Independent Practitioner magazine, revealed that spinal surgery was the most expensive category of settled orthopaedic claims and the most common, comprising nearly a quarter of the total (22%). Claims from knee surgery such as joint replacements and arthroscopies (to inspect problems inside a joint) were almost as common with 55 cases.

The MDU highlighted the importance of performing simple manual identification checks and ensuring the operation site is properly marked to help ensure procedures are carried out on the correct side, site or level as wrong site incidents were found to be a particular problem in spinal and knee surgery.