Medical malpractice attorneys know that it is often very difficult to determine what went wrong in a surgical procedure. Unless someone witnessed exactly what happened and is willing to testify about it, or unless the outcome was so bad it is presumed to be the result of negligence (a res ipsa loquitur claim, such as leaving a surgical instrument in the patient), the reasons for a bad outcome are often never known to the patient or his/her attorney.

A Canadian surgeon has developed software that he says will measure and record every event during a surgical procedure, just like the “black box” in aircraft — and now in automobiles — can allow a reconstruction of exactly what happened in an accident. Whether this concept will be accepted by the medical community is less than clear, but it would be a potential way of developing ways to prevent surgical errors or mistakes.

Here is a link to the article:

[A “Black Box” in Every OR?][1]

[1]: http://www.outpatientsurgery.net/newsletter/eweekly/2013/10/08#1 “A “Black Box” in Every OR?”