A study recently conducted by Johns Hopkins University made headlines when it concluded that medical errors were the third leading cause of death in the United States. The study found that 250,000 deaths each year occurred because of fatal medical errors. Of those claims brought against hospitals and physicians, the majority involved patient deaths. According to Chicago-based insurance company, CAN, death claims accounted for 34.3 percent of all claims completed in 2015.
Death claims, however, do not have the highest payout among medical malpractice claims. Instead, claims for brain or neurological damage averaged the highest compensation sum. Medical wrongful death claims were substantially lower in comparison.
Medical malpractice causes hundreds of thousands of complications in United States hospitals each year. While most are not life-threatening, there are still a large majority of errors that result in the death of the patient. HealthGrades, the nation’s leading physician and hospital ranking website, concluded that between 2000 and 2002, there were more than 195,000 deaths caused by medical errors – and these errors were preventable. Some even occurred during routine procedures, while others were medication errors.
Any time when a physician or hospital professional makes an error, it could be considered medical malpractice if that error was a breach of the physician’s medical duty. While no amount of money could ever fully compensate a family that has lost a loved one to a medical error, the laws of the state allow the victim’s family to seek compensation from those responsible.
Some common causes of medical malpractice wrongful death claims include:
If you lost a loved one due to a medical error, contact the medical malpractice team at Malman Law today. We can assess your case and determine if your loved one’s death was the result of medical malpractice. If it is, we will aggressively seek compensation from the hospital or physician responsible. Schedule a free case evaluation today by calling (888) 625-6265 or fill out our online contact form with your questions.