Medical Malpractice Hits Epidemic Levels – 3rd Highest Cause of Death

No one ever likes to think about the way they are going to die. Most people figure they’ll eventually succumb to heart disease, cancer or an accident – among the most common ways to leave this world. Here’s something you may not think about.

According to a recent study by the prestigious Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, the third highest cause of death in this country results from medical malpractice. You have an approximately 10 percent chance of dying due to a situation arising from medical error, a higher likelihood than dying from respiratory disease. That’s a situation of epidemic proportions.

Appalling Statistics

About 250,000 people die unnecessarily each year from medical malpractice – preventable medical mistakes. That breaks down to 685 people per day, 28 people per hour, or someone dying every 2 minutes in the United States from a medical mistake.

Those appalling statistics do not include the far greater number of patients who are catastrophically injured daily because of mistakes made by medical professionals.

Types of Medical Malpractice

Medical mistakes come in all shapes and sizes, but most fall into one of several categories. These include:

  • Unnecessary surgery or procedures
  • Incorrect diagnosis
  • Wrong medications
  • Errors resulting in diseases or infection
  • Communication errors between doctors, nurses and hospitals administrators

Unfortunately, my family has personal experience with the tragedy of medical malpractice. My father died because of medical malpractice. He went into the hospital for minor knee surgery and died three days later from a massive pulmonary embolism because of lack of communication among medical personnel. When I say I understand what my clients are going through, it’s completely true.

Childbirth Mistakes

Some babies never get a chance at life because of a doctor, nurse or medical facility’s error. Mistakes made during childbirth can mean the child ends up with cerebral palsy, brain injury, another type of disability – or dies.

Doctors may show up late for delivery – or not show up at all. Doctors improperly perform forceps or vacuum delivery or delay needed C- sections that could have resulted in a healthy baby.

Some hospitals do not have the staff present to cope with the needs of mothers and newborns. Whatever the nature of these mistakes, they all end up having catastrophic consequences on a little child just beginning their life. These tragedies forever change the life of the parents, other family members, and a surviving infant. It’s a lifetime of heartache and too often decades of disability.

Unnecessary Procedures for Cold, Hard Cash – Profits before Patients

There are doctors and medical centers out there deliberately persuading unsuspecting patients to undergo risky, unnecessary procedures simply to make money.

Here’s one example. We had a case where a doctor persuaded a healthy young man in his 30s to undergo a Manipulation under Anesthesia (MUA), which is basically a chiropractic adjustment done while the patient is put under. This scheme turns a simple $100 chiropractic treatment into a $30,000 surgical center procedure, billed to the patient’s insurance provider. During the operation, our client was deprived of oxygen and is still in a persistent vegetative state.

After intensive investigation, a whistleblower nurse came forward and testified the MUAs were done solely so the facility could make money. Eventually, the state of Florida shut down the surgical center. Our client will always require round-the-clock medical treatment.

Florida Medical Malpractice Law – Look for Legal Expertise

Laws governing medical malpractice vary from state to state. Florida law imposes requires an extensive pre-suit process – equivalent to a mini-lawsuit before filing the actual lawsuit. Most lawyers in Florida don’t even begin to know how to navigate this complicated process. I tell all my clients: Don’t go from being victim of medical malpractice to a legal malpractice victim.

Do your homework, check out the law firm and attorney’s track record and use a law firm with the expertise to handle medical malpractice cases.

Our practice ends up declining most of the people who contact us regarding a medical malpractice case. We end up accepting just between 1 to 2 percent of such cases. We only take cases we believe have merit and have resulted in catastrophic injury or wrongful death. Each case is carefully reviewed in detail by our in-house doctor, investigators and specially trained nurse-paralegals.

Once it passes in-house review, the case is sent to highly qualified independent medical experts for their opinion. The process is expensive and time-consuming, but crucial. We want our clients to have the best information about what happened to them during their hospitalization. We fight aggressively for our client’s right and to get them the full compensation they deserve for all they have suffered.

If you believe you or a loved one is a victim of medical malpractice, you should speak with a lawyer experienced in the complexities of medical error lawsuits quickly as there are strict time limits to make your claim. Call us for a confidential conversation with a member of our medical negligence legal team to learn your rights:   954.522.6601 or

 



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