Medical Errors: The Leading Cause of Death

When you go to the hospital, you want to feel safe and in good hands, but recent reports suggest that the number of people who suffer harm caused by medical errors made in US hospitals is much higher than previously thought.

When a person is injured or dies as a result of a medical error, the person or persons responsible must be held accountable to compensate the injured patient or their family.

If you or a loved one has been the victim of a medical error, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney to evaluate the facts and circumstances of your case. You may be entitled to substantial compensation.

Medical Errors

Doctors and nurses make a living trying to help others, but they are human beings and human beings sometimes make mistakes. When a doctor has been working for an extremely long period of time, fatigue and lack of focus can cause them to make critical mistakes.

Other times, the policies or systems are to blame for the mistakes that doctors make. For example, when a doctor or nurse comes in to start their shift, they must rely on charts and records created by others.

Sloppy paperwork and inaccurate records keeping can give a doctor an incomplete picture (or even worse, the wrong picture) of a patient’s condition, and this can lead to serious injury and even death. This is called a preventable medical error.

Recent studies indicate that preventable medical errors are responsible for up to 400,000 deaths in the US each year. That’s nearly as many deaths as caused by smoking, making medical errors the third leading cause of death in the United States, second only to heart disease and cancer.

Some of the most common medical errors include:

• Misdiagnosis

• Surgical errors

• Failure to follow up with treatment in a timely manner

• Anesthesia errors

• Medication and prescription errors

Compensation for Injuries Caused by Medical Errors

If you or a loved one has suffered an injury due to a medical error, you are entitled to file a medical malpractice claim to hold the person or persons responsible for the error financially accountable. But, in order for your medical malpractice claim to succeed, you will be required to establish both injury and causation.

First, an injury must be acknowledged by the testimony of a medical expert. Then, the cause of the injury must be determined. If direct negligence on the part of a doctor, nurse, or other medical personnel cannot be established, it must be proven that the injury could have been avoided.

If the requisite proof can be established, the victim of a medical error or his or her family is entitled to recover the following damages:

• Past and future Medical expenses

• Past and future lost wages and income

• Compensation for pain and suffering and other intangible losses

• And more

The good news is, just like drivers are required to purchase auto insurance in case they cause an accident that injures someone, doctors also purchase medical malpractice insurance in case they make a mistake or medical error that hurts someone.

That being said, medical malpractice claims can be extremely complex and the only way to succeed is with the help of an experienced and aggressive medical malpractice lawyer or law firm.

Contact The Hayes Firm: Attorney Finding Service

If you or a loved one has been the victim a medical error, The Hayes Firm can assist you with locating an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to help you with filing a medical malpractice claim. Strict time limits apply to filing a medical malpractice claim, so call us today at 1-800-603-6833, or contact us here. We offer a no cost, no obligation initial consultation.