Statistics and Medical Malpractice
The term “Medical Malpractice” refers to instances of professional negligence through acts of omission. Health care providers are required to adhere to certain accepted standards of practice and any deviation from those standards, which leads to an injury or death, is considered medical malpractice. To offset this risk and expenses of a possible lawsuit, professional medical providers are required, by law, to maintain professional liability insurance. An example of medical malpractice would be a situation where a physician prescribed an experimental drug which led to the subsequent death of a patient.
In 2004, a study of primary care medical malpractice showed that error-related injuries and deaths were greater in situations where the care was provided in an outpatient setting. No individual medical issue was responsible for more than 5% of medical malpractice claims and 1/3 of the total number of claims came about as the result of a misdiagnosis.
Another study (by Healthgrades) has shown that, on average, in the years 2000-2002, 195,000 hospital deaths in the United States were caused by medical errors that could have been prevented. Another study involved the medical records of 37 million patients and utilizing current mortality and economic statistics, demonstrated that up to 98,000 deaths occurred each year as a result of medical errors. This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (October, 2003).
A follow up study, in 2006, of the Institute of Medicine’s 1999 study showed that the most common type of medical error involved medication prescriptions – affecting 1.5 million patients annually. The study also showed that 40,000 of these medication-related injuries occurred in hospitals and were preventable. 800,000 occurred in long-term care facilities and about 530,000 occurred in outpatient settings. The report also stated that these numbers are most likely conservative.
In the year 2000 alone, costs associated with preventable medication-related injury were approximately $887 million – just for the additional medical care needed. Note that none of these numbers include other costs such as loss of productivity and lost job earnings.
Approximately 73% of medical malpractice claims, that were settled, involved medical errors. The New England Journal of Medicine, in a 2006 study, came to the conclusion that a claim with no evidence of medical error was not uncommon – but most of those were denied any compensation (72%).
A close examination of 1452 closed medical malpractice claims showed that 97% were associated with an injury and that 63% were associated with medical errors.
Please note that this article is for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice.
If you would like more information regarding a suspected medical malpractice occurrence, you can find out more, here. Or you can ask Florida Probate Lawyer Adrian Philip Thomas, P.A. – currently practicing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
