Martin & Jones Blog  filter by category: Medical Malpractice

Even though malpractice awards are dropping to near-record lows, medical negligence -- the errors that injure and kill patients -- have not similarly dropped.  Calls for tort reform ignore the most important concern: improving patient safety by reducing medical negligence.

While I was visiting a neurosurgeon’s office in the recent past, he took the occasion to show me all the medical charts he was reviewing for medical negligence. As I gazed upon the many stacks of medical records, he asked me why there were so many medical malpractice lawsuits.

Investigators reviewed hospital discharge records from as many as 69 million in-patient hospital admissions between 1998 and 2006, and found that these infections lengthened admissions from eleven to fourteen days and added approximately $33,000 to $46,000 in costs to those admissions.

Thousands of patients die each year because they contracted an infection while they were in the hospital. 

It was recently reported that renowned actor James Woods resolved a long and bitter medical malpractice lawsuit against a hospital arising out the death of his brother receiving treatment there.  An apology by the hospital was a pivotal event in the settlement process during a trial that ironically was in the fourth week. Kent Hospital’s president decided to follow her gut and asked Mr. Woods to dinner to discuss the case - “treating a grieving brother the way she’d want to be treated herself.” 

A new study published in the Archives of Surgery has concluded that patients are more likely to die from serious traumatic injuries when treated in the emergency room if they do not have health insurance.  Patients with health insurance receive better care, according to the study.  The study found that if a patient is uninsured, he or she may experience delays in treatment or receive different care.

An autopsy provides important medical information on the cause of death that may be essential when trying to prove death occurred as a result of medical error. Death may occur from negligent injuries or causes not apparent to either your healthcare provider or you.

New Paper Debunks Medical Malpractice Myths

Just how small is 1/2 of a percentage point?

Another piece of information to consider.

Doctors bury their mistakes.