Medical Malpractice Suits: Death
By Medicine
By
Anna
Henningsgaard
A recent report has found that Americans are more frightened of dying at
the hands of their doctor than they are of a plane crash. The overwhelming
majority of those who participated in the survey said that information about
malpractice suits and medical errors would be the single most deciding
factor in trusting a healthcare provider. These people must have heard that
medical errors cause more deaths in the United States every year than car
accidents, AIDS, or breast cancer.
In fact, for the airline industry to parallel medical errors in mortality
rates a 280-person jet would have to crash every day of the year. This would
account for the over 100,000 people who die annually due to complications in
medical care, not to mention the nearly 2 million who are maimed and
disabled. This malady is called iatrogenic disease, a disease that is a
direct result of medical care. What is causing this epidemic? Many agree
that the cause is over-treatment. More medicine is administered than
necessary, people are hospitalized unnecessarily, and doctors prescribe
drugs instead of healthy lifestyle choices. This is a major problem and it
shows no signs of stopping.
In the ten year period between 1983 and 1993 the incidence of death by
medical error, or iatrogenic disease, jumped 260% overall and 850% among
patience receiving outpatient care. These statistics could only be an
indication of the true numbers, because medical error is not often recorded
on death certificates. Some people blame the increased number of deaths on a
greater number of prescriptions, but the number of prescriptions issued has
increased less than 40% in 10 years, compared with the 260% increased death
rate. Instead, some doctors blame increased usage of anesthesia, especially
among those receiving outpatient care.
Medical malpractice insurance rates have been skyrocketing, causing a
small crisis among doctors who must be insured in order to practice. They
complain of medical malpractice lawsuits going out of control, large cities
awarding record settlements, too many people filing claims. Well can you
blame people for filing claims? Doctors must be held accountable for their
prescriptions, and if a doctor writes you a prescription that hurts you they
deserve to be taken to court! This is truly an epidemic, and it must be
stopped by holding irresponsible healthcare providers responsible. One in
five Americans has experienced medical errors directly or has a family
member who has suffered a medical error. If you feel you have suffered
unnecessarily at the hands of a doctor, seek legal council and work it out
with a lawyer.
If you have more questions, contact a
medical error attorney or read about other
medical malpractice cases at
http://www.hugesettlements.com.
If you use this article, please include these links.
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