Injured Due to a Medical Mistake? We're Here to Help.

A 1999 study by the Institute of Medicine, which is part of the National Academy of Sciences, estimated 44,000 to 98,000 hospital patients in the U.S. die each year from medical mistakes. That's 268 deaths per day. This far exceeds the number of people killed in traffic accidents per year (43,450), or those who die yearly from breast cancer (42,300) or AIDS (16,400). In addition to death, medical mistakes can cause birth trauma, brain injury, paralysis, amputation, disability, and disfigurement.

A medical mistake occurs when a doctor or other healthcare professional fails to properly treat a patient and the improper treatment causes the patient to suffer a new injury. A new injury is required because it would be unreasonable to hold a doctor or other healthcare professional responsible for the original medical problem. Some examples of medical mistakes include:

Failure to diagnose a medical condition
Misdiagnosis of a medical condition
Failure to properly treat a patient's medical condition
Failure to safely administer anesthesia
Failure to manage a pregnancy or deliver a baby in a safe manner
Failure of a nurse or other staff member to keep a treating physician informed of a patient's condition
Failure to administer medications properly
Failure to protect a patient from a fall or other injury on hospital property

Most injured victims, or surviving family members, never know that a medical mistake resulted in their injury or death. In fact, only 1 out of 8 instances of medical mistakes resulted in a claim being filed. Additionally, of those cases filed, only 26% of those who file the claim win.

Most physicians perform their job admirably. In fact, one study in the West Virginia Sunday Gazette Mail shows that just 40 doctors were responsible for more than 25% of the 2,300 reported cases of medical malpractice between 1993 and 2001. In Kentucky, only 16% of the state's doctors were responsible for 100% of the medical malpractice there from 1992 through 2001. However, fewer than 30% of doctors disciplined for a variety of medical mistakes had to stop practicing.