There are many people out there who, when they hear about medical malpractice lawsuits being filed, will react with a bit of skepticism. That’s likely because they have never been the victim of medical malpractice themselves nor have they known anyone who suffered through that experience. In addition, people in general are taught from childhood to trust what their doctors say and do because they have gone through years of rigorous training and they have earned their position in life. In short, we tend to believe doctors and we tend to support them when they are accused of negligence.
However, few people tend to realize the actual scope and number of mistakes that are made by medical professionals across the United States. Perhaps if people were more aware of these numbers they’d be more inclined to keep an open mind when they hear that someone has suffered as a result of negligent medical treatment. Recently, a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University completed an exhaustive study that involved reviewing the details of medical malpractice claims. What they found was quite surprising.
There are many people out there who, when they hear about medical malpractice lawsuits being filed, will react with a bit of skepticism. That’s likely because they have never been the victim of medical malpractice themselves nor have they known anyone who suffered through that experience. In addition, people in general are taught from childhood to trust what their doctors say and do because they have gone through years of rigorous training and they have earned their position in life. In short, we tend to believe doctors and we tend to support them when they are accused of negligence.
However, few people tend to realize the actual scope and number of mistakes that are made by medical professionals across the United States. Perhaps if people were more aware of these numbers they’d be more inclined to keep an open mind when they hear that someone has suffered as a result of negligent medical treatment. Recently, a team of researchers at Johns Hopkins University completed an exhaustive study that involved reviewing the details of medical malpractice claims. What they found was quite surprising.
According to their research, for instance, surgeons in the United States leave some type of foreign object inside the bodies of patients approximately 39 times per week. They perform the wrong procedures on a patient approximately 20 times per week and they perform surgery on the wrong part of the body 20 times per week. When one considers that there are thousands of surgeries performed on a weekly basis, it’s easy to see how the percentages would seem quite low. However, when extrapolated out for a full year, the statistics look like this:
- Number of times a foreign object is left in the body – 2,000
- Number of times the wrong procedure is born – 1,000
- Number of times the wrong body part is targeted – 1,000
Overall, the researchers determined that approximately 80,000 mistakes like those mentioned above that people would generally think never happen actually did occur between the years of 1990 and 2010. In addition, the researchers believe that these estimates are extremely low because they were not able to dig through all of the medical malpractice records in existence because of obvious concerns with confidentiality.
It is likely that these numbers, even though most agree that they are low estimates, are still much higher than most people would have expected. While doctors are highly trained and highly skilled individuals, they are also human and they will make mistakes from time to time. Unfortunately, when doctors make mistakes people can be forced to pay enormous prices in terms of their health and in some cases in terms of their lives.
If you or someone you love has been harmed as a result of negligent medical care, you need to make sure that you stand up for your legal rights. Contact the New York medical malpractice lawyers at The Fitzgerald Law Firm today to schedule a free initial consultation.