Operating Room Fires

There should never be an occurrence of operating room fires, especially being that they are preventable. However, they continue to happen at spiraling rates every year throughout the country.

Ignition sources, simply put, like lasers, need to be kept far from certain fuel sources and oxidizers, such as curtains and patients.

While this should seem to be a fairly simple process, healthcare centers and medical practitioners increasingly neglect to follow protocols of safety.

If you or a member of your family has been involved in an operating room fire, contact a personal injury attorney immediately.

Personal injury medical malpractice attorneys will fight to make certain that your rights are protected, and that behavior of negligence doesn’t occur subsequently.


The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has implemented specific safety procedures, which need to be adhered to in all medical facilities throughout the United States.

When medical professionals decide to ignore these protocols, severe operating room fires can become chaotic.

Several causes of the fires can include the following:

Oxygen sources, such as, nitrous and room air oxide, oxygen canisters; ignition sources, such as, ESUs, fiber optics, and lasers; and fuel sources, such as cleaning agents, patients, and drapes.

Many attorneys have experience dealing with adult operating room fires and pediatric care fires.

Any hospital, no matter where you are a burn injury happened, attorneys can assist you in rectifying a situation.

Attorneys have the experience necessary to make certain that the negligent healthcare facility and employees are held liable for any damages they may have caused.

Bringing a lawsuit for malpractice against a negligent healthcare facility not only can help you recover full compensation necessary to cover lost wages and pay expenses, but it can assist you to prevent subsequent negligence from occurring again.

Recent studies have indicated some overwhelming statistics regarding fires in hospitals, such as: annually, over 2,000 healthcare facility fires occur; more than 100 individuals, each year, sustained injuries in fires; and, annually, an individual loses his or her life due to negligent hospital fire.

By identifying and eliminating the negligent behavior, attorneys can assist you to help enforce the protocols implemented to safeguard the safety of every patient.


New claims can even result in better and newer laws, which will protect individuals for upcoming years.

In, around, or on a patient, surgical fires happen when he or she is undergoing a surgical or medical procedure.

A surgical fire can happen anytime an ignition source, oxygen, and fuel source are present.

Many individuals are knowledgeable of how hazardous a combination of these three elements can be.

Surgical fires are underreported in a significant way, and they occur much too often, to result in a patient sustaining catastrophic injuries.

Operating room fires are without a doubt among the most devastating and frightening experiences endured by a patient and family members.

The specific number of catastrophic injuries and fatalities is not easy to determine because these fires are normally underreported.

Contact us for a free consultation or call Anzalone Law Firm PLLC, at: 603.548.3797.