Review by Spencer Vereen
In May of 2016, the British Journal of Medicine listed medical error as the third leading cause of death in the U.S. According to the Guardian, medical error accounts for nearly 250,000 deaths every year. These numbers are not readily available because of a lack of overall tracking in the U.S. Still, Martin Makary and Michael Daniel, researchers at John Hopkins University, concluded that more than 9.5% of all deaths in the U.S. can be attributed to medical error.
The chart below highlights the large gap between other leading causes of death and deaths directly attributed to medical error. As you can see, medical error is ahead of many other leading causes of death. One thing that must be considered when looking at this chart is the fact that, while certain activities increase the chance that one could acquire a disease that leads to death (such as smoking leading to lung cancer), medical error is something that is completely avoidable. It is exclusively the result of a medical provider being entrusted with the care of a patient and that provider acting carelessly or negligently during the course of treatment. In the legal realm, this is referred to as “violating the standard of care.” This “standard of care” is not how the average person may define “standard”, but rather how the medical industry defines it.
The fact that medical error is the third leading cause of death should be of significant concern for every citizen. At the end of the day, you are more likely to die as a result of medical error than you are from stroke, diabetes, or even an accident.
One key aspect that is not quantified in the study is the number of individuals who suffered from a medical error but did not die as a result of it. This number likely far surpasses the number of deaths attributable to medical error. The Washington Post quoted one doctor as saying, “Some estimates would put this number at 40 times the death rate.” These errors may forever alter the life of the patient. The overall lack of data in this area is symbolic of how taboo it is to speak of medical errors. In order to break the taboo, researchers have called for better tracking and to reframe the issue as a matter of public health.
Makary, specifically, has called for the CDC to begin tracking the deaths and require physicians to report if the error led to a preventable death. These suggestions, although ambitious, would shed light on the underlying problems that allow medical error to occur at such a high rate. Furthermore, they would allow governmental institutions to work with healthcare institutions on standardizing the way in which doctors practice medicine. Currently, standardization in the medical industry is nearly non-existent. While general guidelines are used in a patient’s care, they are merely guidelines and are not necessarily followed to the letter. As more information comes to light on this subject, one can expect to see a drastic rise in the number of individuals coming forward who have been the victim of a medical error.
While statistics may be skewed in one direction or the other, we know that medical errors happen more often than they should. With recent studies highlighting these trends, the situation may be more serious than what we initially realized.
At Marc Stewart Law, PLLC, we receive hundreds of inquiries each month about incidents of potential medical malpractice. These most recent statistics shine light on the latest research--and its irony. Pursuing a medical malpractice claim is extremely difficult. The plaintiff maintains the burden of proof at all times. This means that a plaintiff must prove each of the following points:
- ) a medical error was committed (also called a “deviation from the minimum standard of reasonable medical care”) as defined by the medical industry;
- ) serious injury or death occurred (damages); and,
- ) a direct cause-and-effect link between the medical error and the injury can be established with scientific/medical evidence.
Additionally, a medical expert or experts must be obtained who support and are willing to testify to each of these elements. Requiring a medical expert or experts to testify to these points is not only daunting but extremely costly. Having someone on your side that is well versed in medicine and how it intersects with law is absolutely crucial to have the best chance at a successful outcome.
For the past 17 years, Marc Stewart has actively taken care of patients who were unnecessarily harmed due to the actions of medical providers who deviated from the accepted medical “standard of care.” For 17 years, he also has worked to hold medical providers accountable, which often results in better practices and safer medical services delivered at medical facilities and the communities in which they operate. Should you believe that you or a loved one has suffered severe damages from a medical error, contact our office at 877-650-6080 toll-free.
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