Operator error is the key factor contributing to medical laser accidents.

Useful lessons can often be learned from studying laser accidents. Although most countries require such accidents to be reported to the relevant authority, often such information is not accessible to laser users. Consequently, it was decided to collect detailed accounts of incidents from the British Medical Laser Association's Internet mailing list. Twelve incidents were reported by e-mail after a request for information sent to the BMLA mailing list in 2003. Although these are of a diverse nature, operator error accounted for 67% of the cases. This factor should be recognized when developing laser safety programs.