Medical Malpractice by the Numbers
Patients usually don’t consider the thought of medical malpractice. After all, people are entrusting their lives to a medical professional, who has years of experience and specialized training. However, even doctors can make life-threatening mistakes. Worse yet, there have been cases of medical malpractice, in which negligence was to blame for an injury or death. What are the statistics of medical malpractice in America?
Studies by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences as well as Harvard University have revealed some startling facts. Medical malpractice as well as other medical errors causes about 98,000 premature deaths a year, yet less than one-half of nation’s doctors face any substantial sanctions because of negligent errors.
Sexual abuse and substance abuse has also been reported among a small percentage of doctors. However, these statistics are relative compared to doctors affected by the work environment itself—namely that most residents work an excessive amount of hours. An “average” sleep-deprived period reported among first year residents was 37.6 hours. Doctors are customarily required to work an average of 56.9 total hours a week in on-call shifts, which are continuous shifts at the hospital allowing little to no resting period. 25% of residents even stated they usually worked in excess of 80 hours a week.
Though statistics varied between doctors and work ethics, one statistical finding remained solid, even when verified by the National Practitioner Data Bank. There is a small percentage of doctors that take the blame for all medical malpractice results in a given year. Another startling statistic is that the cost of medical malpractice to American society in terms of disability, healthcare, lost income and personal costs measures roughly $20 billion dollars a year. However, the medical liability system only costs $6.7 billion dollars a year.
The most alarming statistic, as compiled by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, is the fact that medical malpractice claims are actually declining. Remember that if you are injured because of a professional’s negligence you do have the right to fight for your losses and a New York attorney can be the best solution.