Preventable Medical Errors – sixth biggest killer in America

Preventable medical errors kill and seriously injure hundreds of thousands of Americans every year. Errors include physician diagnostic mistakes, incomplete or deficient patient records, medication-prescription slip-ups, staff fatigue and overwork, procedural safety-check lapses and others.

Experts believe that if doctors, nurses, dentists, technicians, and other staff were simply more careful, they would make fewer errors.

The institute for Heathcare Improvement approximates that 15 million incidents of medical harm occur each year. HeathGrades, a leading health-care-rating organization, found that Medicare patients who experienced patient-safety incidents had a one-in-five chance of dying as a result.

Even though one-third of Americans say that they or one of their family members has experienced a medical error, and one in five say that a medical error has caused either themselves or a family member serious health problems or death, surveys show that Americans vastly underestimate the extent of medical errors.

Buttafuoco & Associates
Experienced Medical Malpractice Attorneys
www.1800NowHurt.com

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