Medical mistakes are a leading cause of death

Most New York residents would not be surprised to learn that heart disease and cancer are the nation's two leading causes of death, but they may be shocked to learn that preventable medical mistakes are America's third biggest killer. Research indicates that over 400,000 American hospital patients lose their lives each year due to doctor errors, prescription drug side effects or unsanitary conditions, and experts say that a sweeping, concerted and comprehensive effort is needed to tackle the problem.

The problem is more pronounced when the approximately 1 billion ambulatory health care visits that occur each year are added to the 35 million hospital admissions. This is important because most efforts to improve patient safety pay little attention to the quality of outpatient care and focus instead on making hospital stays safer. The National Patient Safety Foundation believes that this shortcoming requires urgent and immediate attention, and it pointed out in a December 2015 report that more than half of all medical malpractice claims are filed by individuals who were treated in an outpatient setting.

Research conducted by the Mayo Clinic indicates that a great many errors occur when patients are transferred form one medical facility to another or their treatment plan is changed for some reason. Another issue highlighted by this research is that the results of medical tests are often ignored when they are received after the patient concerned has been discharged. Patient advocate groups like the NPSF say that only a culture of safety that permeates throughout the health care industry can hope to remedy the problem.

When patients are harmed due to doctor errors, inadequate hospital staffing or tainted instruments, attorneys may file medical malpractice lawsuits against the physicians or medical facilities involved. This type of litigation can be complex and challenging, and it is usually necessary to have testimony from medical experts to support the plaintiff's claim.