You Will Have One Diagnostic Error In Your Lifetime Statistics Show

Diagnostic errors, either wrong or delayed, will affect each and every person according to a study released last year. Americans experience 12 million diagnostic errors each year. This is the leading type of paid medical malpractice claim and it is twice as likely to result in death of patients, compared to other claims.

The causes for such errors are attributed to poor communication and bureaucracy in a healthcare setting that can have lasting effects on patient health (both physical and psychological) as well as on finances.

Of course these errors do not take into account medical errors (actually performing procedures and prescribing medications incorrectly). Medical errors account for between 210,000 and 440,000 deaths annually, according to a study published in the Journal of Patient Safety.

These types of errors include operating on the wrong patient, hospital acquired infections, leaving instruments inside patients after surgery, and mix-ups involving medications and treatments.

If you or a loved one received treatment at a hospital or there was an error in your diagnosis that left permanent injury, call our office. Our medical malpractice team includes a doctor/attorney and nurse/attorney that will begin an investigation into your injury.