Despite efforts at stemming the tide of deaths from medical negligence, the number of preventable medical errors continues to climb, making medical malpractice the 3rd leading cause of death in the United States. Recent studies have estimated the number of deaths to be roughly 250,000, however advocates believe the real total is significantly higher. Further, this number does not include serious or catastrophic injuries.
A recent study evaluated these statistics and provided a more insight. For example, the leading cause of medical deaths are from surgical errors. This may include wrong-site surgeries, unnecessary surgeries, and complications that arise during surgery.
Additionally, while payouts vary, the average payout is around $300,000. New York state has the highest number of medical malpractice payouts over the last decade, and North Dakota has had the lowest. Given the number of deaths, surgeons face the highest number of medical malpractice lawsuits, and dental hygienists the lowest.
However, despite these statistics – if you or your family suffers any form of harm from medical malpractice, you need an individualized evaluation of your circumstances and review into what happened. Thus, it is important to contact an experienced Los Angeles medical malpractice lawyer to begin a review into your matter, if you suspect an error has occurred.
For more information, please contact the experienced Los Angeles medical malpractice trial lawyers at Bostwick & Peterson, LLP for an immediate consultation.
