The Medical Issue Of Our Time - Medical Negligence

Medical Issue proof 1 - Between 44,000 to 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year due to preventable medical errors. (Institute of Medicine, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, 2000.)

Medical Issue proof 2 - The annual costs to society for medical errors in hospitals at $17 billion to $29 billion. (Institute of Medicine, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, 2000.)

Medical Issue proof 3 - The total amount spent on medical malpractice insurance in 2000 was $6.4 billion – at least three to five times less than the Institute of Medicine’s estimate of the costs of malpractice to society. (National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Statistical Compilation of Annual Statement Information for Property/Casualty Insurance Companies in 2000, (2001).)

Frequency of Medical Malpractice Claims:

Medical Issue proof 4- Only one in eight preventable medical errors committed in hospitals results in a malpractice claim. (Harvard Medical Practice Study Group, Patients, Doctors and Lawyers: Medical Injury, Malpractice Litigation, and Patient Compensation in New York, 1990.)

Medical Issue proof 5- From 1996 through 1999, Florida hospitals reported 19,885 incidents but only 3,177 medical malpractice claims. In other words, for every 6 medical errors only 1 claim is filed. (The Agency for Health Care Administration; Division of Health Quality Assurance. Reported malpractice claims by district compared to reported adverse incidents 1996, 1997, 1998, 1999.)

Medical Issue proof 6 - The number of new medical malpractice claims declined by about four percent between 1995 and 2000. There were 90,212 claims filed in 1995 and 86,480 claims filed in 2000. (National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Statistical Compilation of Annual Statement Information for Property/Casualty Insurance Companies in 2000, 2001.)

Medical Issue proof 7 - Punitive Damages are awarded in less than 1 percent of medical malpractice cases. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, 1996.)

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