Medical malpractice continues to be a concern throughout our region and the rest of this nation. Many people die as a result of medical negligence when their deaths could have been prevented. This is why every July the National Medical Malpractice Advocacy Association (NMMAA) promotes National Medical Malpractice Awareness Month.
Our law firm also wants to help raise awareness for medical malpractice, not only for the month of July but throughout the year. To help educate our clients and potential clients about medical negligence and patient safety, we want to provide a quick list of facts associated with medical malpractice, including:
- Medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in this nation, according to a John Hopkins study.
- Over 250,000 lives are lost in this nation every year due to medical errors, according to the same study.
- Medical errors can be caused from poor judgment, distractions, communication problems, breakdowns in processes and procedures, technological errors, and more.
- Medical injuries associated with surgery, obstetrics, diagnosis, and medication make up about 80 percent of medical malpractice claims in the United States, according to the New England Journal of Medicine.
- Surgical errors can include operating on the wrong site, performing the wrong surgery, operating on the wrong body part, leaving a foreign object inside of a patient, and preventable infections.
- Obstetric errors or gynecological errors can include birth injuries, C-section errors, poor maternity care, labor and delivery errors, and more. Unfortunately, many women and children have suffered life-changing injuries and even death as a result of OB/GYN negligence.
- Diagnosis errors can include misdiagnosing or failure to diagnose a health condition—allowing the condition to be made worse.
- Errors associated with medication mistakes can include wrong doses and wrong medications given to patients or prescribed to patients.
Although most doctors help patients and provide good care, a small percentage of doctors is responsible for causing patients further harm and even death. If a doctor or other medical professional caused you or a loved one harm, you may have a claim for medical malpractice. Please don’t hesitate to contact our law firm for a free, no-obligation consultation.