According to data released by the National Council of Justice, Brazil has 66,097 new cases opened due to surgical errors until November 30, 2025. The new cases are related to general surgeries, both urgent and elective.
Some of them were procedures performed on the wrong person, in the wrong location or involved errors, such as the unintentional retention of materials in the patient’s body after surgery. Other data from the survey show that, in the same period of 2025, there were 91,391 lawsuits for material and moral damages related to the provision of health services. 70,276 concern the private network and 21,115 involve the public health system.
The numbers of both types of processes are also high in the state of São Paulo, which has the largest hospital network in the country. 5,021 new lawsuits were opened for surgical errors until November 30, 2025, and 10,592 lawsuits for moral and material damages related to health services provided.
