Medical Malpractice Facts

A medical malpractice claim exists if a patient has experienced injury or damage caused by a health care professional due to negligence, carelessness, or malice. These acts may take the form of misdiagnosis, errors in treatment, inadequate health care management, and insufficient aftercare.

Some other types of medical malpractice may include but are not limited to medication errors, surgical errors, insufficient follow-up procedures, premature discharge, failure to recognize symptoms, diagnosis errors, error in consent, birth injuries, and medical record errors. It is important to note that a bad outcome due to medical treatment is not always proof of medical malpractice.

‍Data related to medical malpractice:

• The Institute of Medicine determined that medication errors are the most common medical errors, with nearly 1.5 million Americans suffering from these mistakes every year.
• Roughly 225,000 Americans die each year from medical malpractice.
• The Journal of the American Medical Association estimates that 106,000 patients die per year due to effects caused by medication.
• Approximately 85,000 medical malpractice suits are filed in the United States each year, meaning many incidences go unfiled.