Health experts estimate that an alarming number of patients in the U.S. – about 440,000 per year, to be exact – die from medical errors in the hospital. That amounts to about one-sixth of all deaths nationally, and the third leading cause of death overall. Our team of medical malpractice attorneys examines how this could be so in a country so touted for medical advancement.
According to a recent article by the New York Times, the number of patients seriously injured (but not killed) by medical negligence is 10 to 20 times higher than 440,000. The author of that article suggests that the most surefire way to heighten hospital safety is to make information and records more transparent. She affirms that hospitals began tracking safety errors in 2000, and in 2003 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services started collecting hospital safety information.
The website Hospital Compare lists much of this information, and most states run similar websites. Other websites and advocate groups that rank or publish hospital safety information include the U.S. News Best Hospitals, Consumer Reports, and Leapfrog Group.
Among the information that can be mined from these sites include rates of surgical site infection, drug-resistant bacteria infection (such as C.diff), and bedsore and blood clot rates. There is also, however, a significant dearth of information, which is worrisome to say the least, and confirms that hospitals are not comprehensively reporting their data on preventable errors and medical mistake.
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The American healthcare system is hotly contested in all its factions, as it affects the lives of everyone in this country: young and old, sick and healthy, rich and poor. The politics in this issue are omnipresent and intrinsic in understanding how and why the reporting system is so colluded. Enter: the National Quality Forum, a federal organization established in 1999 that is influenced by hospital lobbyists just as Congress is. Consumer representatives of National Forum committees told the Times that they are rolled over by lobbyists and hospital administrators “constantly” in deciding core reporting requirements and other issues.
For example, Hospital Compare no longer provides information on surgical instruments left in patients after procedures, or frequencies of air embolism. About 27 states now require public report of hospital-acquired infection rates, however, this is the only government-mandated safety information required, leaving much buried beneath the surface.
Proving Fault in Hospital Error Lawsuits
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When medical negligence directly causes serious patient injury or death, a lawsuit is the most efficient and effective way to ensure the hospital corrects the inadequacies that led to the error. Lawsuits may only be filed, however, if it can be proven that the physicians or hospital staff failed to meet the standard level of care in your treatment.
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To prove negligence it must be demonstrated that the physician/hospital’s conduct fell substantially below the general medical standard of care. This medical standard can be established through testimony by a medical expert practicing in the same field (for example, if the lawsuit is being brought against an OB/GYN, the testimony of another obstetrician or gynecologist from a different hospital would be acceptable).
In some cases, medical professionals may be held liable for erring in prescription or medical device choices. If a physician prescribes a drug or implants a medical device in a patient for an ailment not intended on the drug or device’s official FDA labels, they can be responsible for any injuries caused. They may also be held responsible for injuries if the patients never gave them explicit informed consent or if the physician breached a contract or warranty.
Proving medical negligence was committed can be tricky, which is why the Pintas & Mullins Law Firm retains our own staff of investigators to get to the bottom of all our malpractice cases. We are currently investigating and accepting cases involving serious injury or death caused my hospital or physician error, from potential clients nationwide. If you have any questions, our legal consultations are always free, and we are available to chat at any time of day or night.
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