A new study by patient safety researchers at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine published recently showed that the third leading cause of death in the United States is now medical errors. These medical mistakes claim 251,000 lives and account for 9.5 percent of all deaths each year in the United States.
Professor Martin Makary, who led the research, stated that, “It boils down to people dying from the care that they receive rather than the disease for which they are seeking care.” Medical errors now cause more deaths each year than respiratory disease, accidents, strokes, and Alzheimer’s. Only heart disease and cancer claim more lives.
Because medical errors are not reported as causes of death on death certificates, deaths caused because of medical malpractice are often underreported. The most commonly cited, but outdated statistics, concerning deaths caused by medical errors are from a much older Harvard University study which estimated the rate of death to be between 44,000 and 98,000 annually. The new analysis conducted by Makary results in a more accurate estimate.
At Kline & Specter, PC, our team of seasoned litigation attorneys has achieved medical malpractice victories for our clients who lost loved ones due to medical errors. In a missed breast cancer diagnosis case, Kline & Specter won $33.1 million for the woman’s surviving family. Other results by our attorneys included verdicts and settlements in medical malpractice cases of $100 million, $57 million, $49 million and, most recently, $42.9 million for a baby girl injured at birth at a Philadelphia hospital. Our firm is continually ranked among the best medical malpractice law firms in the Philadelphia region.
If you have lost a loved one because of a medical error, please call the experienced medical malpractice lawyers of Kline & Specter in Philadelphia for a free case consultation. You can reach our law firm online through this website or by calling 800-243-1100.
