Deadly Mistakes
We all take certain precautions to avoid dangerous accidents: obeying traffic laws, installing fire alarms in our homes and businesses, and so on. There is one situation, however, in which we tend to let our guards down: when we are undergoing professional medical care. If you can trust anyone to ensure your safety and health, it should be a doctor or a hospital staff member.
Unfortunately, recent studies have shown that clinics and hospitals may not be a safe as we would like to assume. A report published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2000 named medical mistakes as the number three killer in the United States. Alarmingly, a 2004 study by healthcare company HealthGrades stated that the numbers may be worse than researchers originally thought.
Preventable Deaths
Medical errors have been blamed on many things: understaffed hospitals, lack of communication, paperwork errors, strains on the healthcare system created by a growing population, and so on. The sad truth is that most of these mistakes can be avoided with simple planning, organization, and a system for double-checking medical decisions. The most common examples of fatal medical error include:
- Drug side effects and interactions
- Failure to diagnose emergency conditions
- Infections acquired in hospitals
- Unnecessary surgery
- Failure to monitor patients
HealthGrades has called mistakes like these a “national epidemic.” If you have lost a loved one because of medical malpractice, filing a Pennsylvania medical malpractice lawsuit can be your best way to counteract this growing public risk.
Contact a Pennsylvania Wrongful Death Lawyer
Pennsylvania wrongful death attorneys at Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. fight for fair compensation from negligent doctors and hospitals. To learn about your legal options, contact us today at 610-667-7511.