Researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine have concluded that medical errors made by healthcare providers in the United States account for more than 251,000 lives each year. This rate places medical errors as the third largest cause of death, behind only heart disease and cancer. Medical errors as a cause of death rank ahead of respiratory disease, accidents, stroke, and Alzheimer’s in the study. The research estimates that this rate of death from error could equate up to 9.5% of all deaths in the United States.
Lack of transparency for error reporting and lack of consistency of requirement for how provider errors are recorded makes providing accountability difficult. In addition, it is not just death from medical errors that are problematic. One physician estimates that the number of severe injuries resulting from preventable medical error could be up to 40 times the death rate or over ten million severe injuries per year.
If you suspect you or a loved one has died or been injured as a result of medical error, contact the attorneys at Shamberg Johnson & Bergman to discuss your concerns.
To learn more about the research on preventable medical error death rates, please read here.