In recent years, the United States has been gripped by a heated debate regarding the new healthcare reform law that is set to take full effect next year. While the political issues regarding this law are not relevant to what we’re trying to bring awareness to here, this debate has brought about a heightened sense of attention that’s being paid to certain statistics that relate to the current American healthcare system. These statistics have been at times troubling and at times alarming, and a recently published report regarding infant mortality in the United States trends towards the latter.
Below you will find a brief overview of a report that was recently released that compared the infant mortality rate that exists in the United States as compared to other industrialized countries, or countries that would be considered our peers. You will also find information regarding how infant death can be the result of mistakes made by medical professionals. Anyone whose child has been harmed because of substandard care needs to obtain the help of New York medical malpractice lawyers as soon as possible.
The Institute of Medicine Report
The Institute of Medicine, an entity that spends its time looking at the quality of healthcare overall in the United States, has recently completed a report that compares the different mortality rates of industrialized countries that include the United States. Unfortunately, the news was not good for the American healthcare system, as the report revealed that 6.7 infant deaths occur for every 1,000 live births.
That’s more than double the rate in countries such as Japan and Sweden and it is the highest infant mortality rate on the entire list that included 17 different countries. Canada was the country with the next highest rate at 5.2, and Sweden was the lowest at 2.5 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births. What’s worse is that during the 1960’s, the United States had a lower infant mortality rate than the average of the same peer countries.
Infant Death and Negligence
While there are a number of different causes for infant deaths in the United States, there are many cases that arise where a child loses his or her life because of the negligence of the medical professionals who were supposed to care for these infants. The causes of these deaths that can be attributed to negligence include a failure to properly deal with complications that arise during birth, the failure to recognize medical problems that arise after birth and many other mistakes that are made. Parents who lose a young child are usually at a total loss with regards to how they should proceed.
If you or someone you love has lost a child because of mistakes made by medical professionals, you need to seek the help of New York medical malpractice lawyers who have been fighting for the rights of families for more than 40 years. Contact The Fitzgerald Law Firm today to schedule a free initial consultation.