Medical Error is the Third Highest Cause of Death in the U.S

An article published by Johns Hopkins Medicine described how our country’s data collection does not properly account for deaths caused by medical error and new research shows that medical error is the highest cause of death after cancer.

The article states that in 1949 the U.S. “adopted an international form that used International Classification of Diseases (ICD) billing codes to tally death” and, at that time, “medical errors were unintentionally excluded from national health statistics”.

To determine a more accurate number of medical error deaths, current day researchers analyzed medical data from 2000 to 2008 and determined that “based on a total of 35,416,020 hospitalizations, 251,454 deaths stemmed from medical error” which “now translates to almost 9.5 percent of all deaths each year in the U.S.” This puts medical error as the third highest cause of death in our country after heart disease (611,105 people) and cancer (584,881 people).

Medical errors don’t always result in death. When a hospital, physician, or provider fails to act with a reasonable standard of care and causes a new or aggravated injury to a patient, that is also considered a medical error.

If you, or someone you care deeply about, has been harmed by medical negligence, the financial, emotional, and physical costs can be staggering. Our West Palm Beach personal injury law firm has handled some of the most challenging medical malpractice cases in Florida and the United States and can help victims and their families seek redress.

Babbitt & Johnson has a reputation built on our experience and record of success. We handle our cases on a contingency fee basis – you do not pay unless we settle or win your medical malpractice case.