Medical Malpractice Statistics

At times, medical malpractice can be attributed to simple misdiagnosis on the part of the medical fraternity, but at times, it may be some serious medical or criminal offense done on purpose. In either case, it's difficult to forget and forgive a mistake, that can spoil someone's life.

An Overview

Medical malpractice is a specific legal term which defines an act of negligence on the part of a professional health care provider, which may result in further complications in the condition of the patient, even resulting in death. It can occur when the health care providers deviate from the accepted standards either by mistake or on purpose. Cases may range from a misdiagnosis of disease, such as cancer, to botched up delivery, which results in physical or mental damage to the child. Here are some of the most commonly occurring instances of wrongful activities in the medical field.

• Anesthesia Errors
• Birth Injury
• Cancer Misdiagnosis
• Dental Malpractice
• Institutional Sexual Abuse
• Medical Errors
• Nursing Home Abuse
• Surgery Mistakes

Lawsuits

Medical malpractice lawsuits are proceedings pertaining to the alleged malpractice in the court of law, wherein the plaintiff, most often the patient or the relative of the patient, is expected to prove that the injury or casualty was caused due to negligence on the part of the medical fraternity, and the defendant, most often the representative of the health care facility, is expected to defend the institute against these allegations.

Statistical Data

Analysis of statistical data reveals that the incidence of such cases is higher in out-patient settings, compared to hospitals. But when it comes to severity, malpractice cases in hospitals tend to be more severe than the same in out-patient settings. According to a study at the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, around 90,000 people lose their lives annually in the hospital, owing to medical errors. This is just an estimated figure, and experts feel that the actual figure would be considerably high. The most common cases of malpractice are attributed to medication errors, which affect almost 1.5 million people annually.

A whopping amount of $887 million was spent as the extra medical costs owing to the preventable drug related injuries suffered by the individuals in medical settings in 2004. Last year, around 19,000 medical malpractice claim payments were made in the United States alone. This constituted 80 percent of the total malpractice claims paid worldwide. The number of malpractice claims which are actually filed is far less, when compared to the actual number of incidents that occur in the country every year. In fact, a study at the Harvard Institute revealed that the ratio between the cases and claims is only 7.6:1, which means that, for every 7.6 people who get injured owing to the neglect on the behalf of medical practitioner, only one person files a claim.

Another study reveals that around 25 percent of the doctors in the United States get litigated for such trouble, most of whom are surgeons, every year. Surprisingly, one of the worst offense featuring in the list of medical malpractices is sexual misconduct with the patient by the concerned medical official. A recent survey revealed that 60 percent of the psychiatrists in the United States confessed that they had sexual contact with their patients.

Medical malpractice lawyers are not shy on banking on these opportunities of medical errors. Statistics reveal that for every dollar spent on the compensation for these cases of malpractices, 54 cents go to the administrative officials - which includes lawyers and experts. Lately though, the doctors have taken a defensive stance, with most of the doctors recommending a series of tests to take out any chances of misdiagnosis, that may lead to further complications. This can become a matter of inconvenience for the patients. But a bit of inconvenience is anytime better than misdiagnosis, isn't it!