Medical errors may be the third leading cause of death in America. This is a huge jump from prior estimates.

In a February, 2000, report entitled “Medical Errors: The Scope of the Problem”, the Agency for Heathcare Research and Quality stated that as many as 44,000 to 98,000 people die in hospitals each year as the result of medical errors. The report went on to state that “Even using the lower estimate, this would make medical errors the eighth leading cause of death in this country – higher than motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer or AIDS.” The study only dealt with errors that resulted in death and did not address the thousands of other instances that result in permanent disability short of death.

The Office of the Inspector General for the US Department of Health and Human Services released a more recent study in November, 2010, in which it found that “a disturbing number of hospitalized patients still endure harmful consequences from medical care, 44% of them preventable.” The study further found that an estimated 134,000 hospitalized Medicare patients experience harm from medical care in a month, with the event contributing to death in 1.5%, or approximately 15,000 patients. Medication errors factored in more than half of the patient fatalities in the study.

Medical Errors Behind Only Heart Disease and Cancer

In a study released this month, researchers at Johns Hopkins University calculated that more than 250,000 deaths are a result of medical error in the United States. That figure surpasses the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s third leading cause of death—respiratory disease, which kills close to 150,000 people per year, by more than 100,000. Medical error deaths would rank only behind cancer and heart disease, both of which cause about 600,000 deaths per year.

Of concern is a quote from the researchers, which indicates that, “the medical coding system was designed to maximize billing for physician services, not to collect national health statistics, as it is currently being used.” We certainly understand that there are many qualified, caring physicians who legitimately focus on their patient. We also believe, however, that the medical system as a whole needs to find a way to refocus from maximizing billing to maximizing attention on the patient.

You can help insure that you received proper medical care. Know what actions to take to avoid negligent health care.

The attorneys of Kennedy, Kennedy, Robbins & Yarbro, LC, represent individuals who have been harmed by medical errors. If you suspect you have a medical malpractice claim, please contact us or call us at (573)686-2459. There is a statute of limitations which functions to bar your claim from being filed. Time may be critically short so don’t delay.