Brazil faces lawsuits over SUS surgery backlogs and a private health provider's retained needle

In Rio Grande do Norte, more than 47,700 people are waiting for elective surgeries in the public Unified Health System (SUS), with orthopaedic procedures among the longest queues. Lawyer Sinelly Freitas notes that delays exceeding 180 days can cause permanent loss of limb function, saying, “She may enter the queue walking with difficulty, she may leave the queue unable to walk.” Patients, fearing irreversible damage, are turning to the courts to enforce their constitutional right to timely treatment.

Separately, the Rio de Janeiro State Court upheld a R$70,000 moral damages award against Unimed de Campos and a surgeon after a suture needle was left inside a patient during a 2014 caesarean and tubal ligation. The needle was discovered eight years later during imaging for persistent pain. The court rejected the defence that the object was a fishing hook, reaffirming Unimed’s joint liability for the medical error.

Both cases highlight growing legal pressure on Brazil's public and private health sectors to address prolonged wait times and prevent medical negligence.