We had a ball python come into the vet hospital where I used to work because an owner left the rat in overnight. There were several superficial areas of skin loss, and one hole that went right into the coelomic cavity of the snake. We had to anesthetize her and sew adjacent ribs together in order to close the hole. One of the other techs ended up adopting her from that person. So bad wounds do happen from rats being left overnight, which also happens.
Also, live feeding when the snake is blind can lead to instant issues, like my rat snake that I took on who was bit into the sinus cavities in the face and had a major infection because the owner only ever fed live. She never left the rats in with him, but because he couldn't see he was being constantly bit by his prey after striking and coiling.
So, live feeding can be done in a way to minimize risk, but even watching a snake can't prevent an injury if a bad strike occurs. Most of the time those bites will be harmless. Sometimes they can be severe. It's something you have to be prepared for and accepting of if you feed live.
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