The Frequency of Medical Malpractice in the United States

Most people of adult age are aware of what medical malpractice is.  The legal term is another way of stating negligence, but in particular to professionals who practice medicine.  The term “medical professional” is meant to be broad and includes primary physicians, surgeons, assistants, nurses, dentists, chiropractors, physical therapists, and in general any professional with whom you have entrusted your health. 

Hudson medical malpractice attorneys handle medical malpractice case routinely.  The experienced attorney is well aware of the frequency with which medical malpractice occurs.  However, most people are startled by the frequency of this negligence. 

Amputating the wrong appendage, operating on the wrong patient, improperly diagnosing a patient, delaying a proper diagnosis, and prescribing the wrong medicine or the wrong dosage are common mistakes made by medical professionals. 

So frequent are some negligent acts, medical researchers have given a name to certain types of medical malpractice.  The term is known as, “never event”.  Medical professionals use this term to describe certain events that should never occur.  Some were named above, that is amputating the wrong appendage and operating on the wrong patient.  Additional never events are leaving objects inside a surgical patient’s body, such as sponges, clamps, needles, etc. 

Laws have required medical professionals to implement specific procedures so that these acts are obliterated.  For example, during pre-surgery exams, the surgeon will write his or her initials on the exact location upon which the procedure is to be conducted; additionally, operating room staff will keep a “sponge count” so that these objects are accounted for after the surgery is complete. 

Unfortunately, even with these laws and procedures, Johns Hopkins University researchers claim that over 4,000 never events occur annually in our country.  Put another way, surgery performed on the wrong part of the body occurs around twenty times a week and thirty nine patients have foreign objects wrongfully left in their bodies after surgery.  More troubling is how researchers believe that these numbers are lower than that which actually occurs.     

Underreporting of medical malpractice events in general may be highly due to the fact that some injuries caused by negligence were treated before the patient realized the problem and its cause.  For example, an infection caused by negligent maintenance of health facilities and equipment may have been reported as an infection inherent in the risk of surgery.  Moreover, malpractice that caused a “minor” injury might have been considered as too slight for the professional to disclose and/or for the patient to complain about.    Lastly, the additional pain and suffering experienced by the patient may have been considered to be a natural effect of the procedure and not due to negligence. 

The attorneys at Greenberg and Greenberg handle medical malpractice cases throughout New York State, including Columbia, Greene, Rensselaer, and Albany County.  Our legal team has earned a reputation for dedicated service to our clients injured in New York personal injury accidents.  Please contact us today to receive a free case evaluation by dialing locally to 518-828-3336 or call toll free at 877-469-9300.

Medical Malpractice 101: Hudson Medical Malpractice Attorney Explains the Important Basics

New York medical malpractice is a form of negligence.  Negligence is an event that occurs when one person or entity owes a duty to another person.  Any duty one owes to another is generally about not causing harm, using a certain level of precaution and care, and is about doing as a reasonable person would have done in a similar situation.  The duty could be a requirement to do, or not to so, something; an act or omission.  In the medical setting, medical providers have duties to not cause harm to patients and to properly treat patients.

The duty owed by medical professionals, also referred to as the standard of care, varies depending on several factors.  First, the region in which medical professionals practice affects the standard of care owed to patients.  Second, the specialty in which the professional practices affects the duty of care.  Third, different types of patients receive different standards of care.  For example, doctors who treat persons with diabetes must follow specific protocols in regard to treating diabetes patients.  Additionally, the patient’s age, race, sex, and secondary aliments may also affect how a doctor is required to treat him or her. 

This may sound very confusing to many people.  An experienced New York medical malpractice attorney will be able to help you figure out the standard of care that was due to you.  Further, expert testimony will be needed to testify as to what the standard of care is in each unique case. 

Once a medical professional fails to meet the requisite standard of care, he or she has committed an act of negligence.  But this alone is not enough to hold the practitioner civilly liable for your harm.  In order to be liable, the doctor’s negligence must have been the actual cause of your injury or damages.  This is referred to as causation and it must be proved at trial.

The injuries that you have suffered are referred to as damages.  Damages are broken down into several categories.  First are economic damages.  This includes the additional money you have spent on treating the injuries caused by the medical professional as well as lost earnings, and lost earning potential.  Then there are non-economic damages which compensate patients for pain and suffering.  Lastly, there are punitive damages.  Punitive damages seek to punish a medical professional for their negligence as a way to deter future medical malpractice.  Damages must also be alleged and proved during the course of a medical malpractice case.  Keep in mind that New York has not placed a cap on the amount of damages that you are entitled to receive in a Hudson medical malpractice case.

Lastly, in order to successfully hold your primary physician, dentist, nurse, or hospital liable for your harm, you must file suit within a specific period of time.  Attorneys refer to this as satisfying the statute of limitations.  The limitations period for medical malpractice expires 2 ½ years after the date of the negligence or after the date on which your continuous treatment ended.  In the case of foreign objects left inside your body, the limitations period expires one year after the date the object was discovered or after the date in which you received sufficient information to lead to such a discovery.   For a more detailed explanation of the statute of limitations, visit our page here for a blog post discussing the nuances of this important rule.

Because of the statute of limitations, you should quickly contact an experienced New York medical malpractice attorney if you or a loved one has been the victim of medical negligence.