In 2013, the total payout in medical malpractice was $3,733,678,100, which was an increase of 4.7% from 2012. 38 states had more payout than they did in 2012.
According to studies, diagnostic errors occurred in approximately 5% of outpatients every year in the United States, meaning that roughly 12 million adults are victims of misdiagnosis. A small fraction of this 5% is made up of missed cancers, but it is found that “delayed cancer diagnosis” is one of the most harmful and costly types of diagnostic errors.
During the fiscal year 2008, 54 reported transfusion-related and potentially transfusion-related fatalities occurred in the United States, with subsequent reports of 66 in 2009 and 64 in 2010. Preventable medical errors rank third among the leading causes of death in the nation, claiming more than 400,000 lives each year. These errors cost the country tens of billions of dollars a year.
Robots have long been involved in the making of cars and electronics. They are also starting to learn how to make decisions that enable them to drive cars for us. As robots get smarter, there may be potential applications for artificial intelligence in the medical field. Specifically, it may be possible for a robot to perform surgery on its own in the future.
New York patients have the possibility of being harmed during the transition from a hospital to home care. The discharge process can be a chaotic time when health care providers are more likely to make mistakes. When a formerly hospitalized patient begins receiving treatment at home, the patient’s home health nurses, pharmacists and other health care providers could fail to correct mistakes that were made during the hospital discharge.
In a recent study of medical malpractice cases in the Unites States, it was found that of all plaintiff patients, 60% were female, with a median age of 38 years. Approximately one-fifth was newborns while roughly 12% were over the age of 65.
Of every 1,000 babies born in the United States, 6 to 8 are born with a birth injury. This means that roughly 1 in every 9,714 people in the country is born with some type of a birth injury. Statistics reveal that approximately 28,000 infants are born with birth defects every year.
Medical malpractice is the number three cause of death in the United States. According to a study released by the US Department of Health and Human Services in 2012, hospitals reported only 14% of treatment errors and other healthcare mistakes.
In the United States, hysterectomies rank number two among the most commonly performed gynecological procedures. More than 500,000 procedures are performed each year.
New York residents may know that former standout NFL linebacker Junior Seau’s suicide has been linked to the degenerative and progressive brain disease chronic traumatic encephalopathy. The Hall of Famer suffered bouts of severe depression before taking his own life in 2012, and the San Diego Chargers team doctor who prescribed him the sleeping aid zolpidem, which is sold under the trade name Ambien, has been accused of gross negligence by the Medical Board of California.
