Frequently Asked Questions

How common is medical malpractice?

Surgery is scary enough without worrying about surgical errors or injuries.

Still, the numbers show that concerns are warranted. The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that more than 225,000 people die each year from medical malpractice.

JAMA states that of these medical malpractice-related deaths:

106,000 resulted from adverse reactions to medications
80,000 resulted from infections
20,000 resulted from hospital errors
12,000 resulted from unnecessary surgery
7,000 resulted from medication errors

The Institute of Medicine’s report, To Err is Human, defines a medical error as “the failure of a planned action to be completed as intended or the use of a wrong plan to achieve an aim.” Surgical errors include surgical injuries and wrong-site surgeries. The report states that most medical malpractice errors occur in operating rooms, emergency departments and intensive care units.

The National Practitioner Data Bank (NPDB) reported that from 1990 – 2004, there were 191,804 medical malpractice occurrences. It is believed that for every eight medical malpractice injuries, only one claim is filed. In addition to the loss of lives, medical malpractice is also costly. Estimated costs related to medical malpractice run between $17 and $29 billion per year nationwide.

The best protection against becoming a victim of medical malpractice is to be prepared. By knowing the statistics regarding medical malpractice and researching your physician and hospital before surgery, you can better prepare for the unknown.

Have you been a victim of medical malpractice?

The Kiley Law Group will evaluate your case for FREE. There are NO FEES unless one of our medical malpractice lawyers wins your case. Contact us today at 1-888-208-1695.