News and Industry Alerts
Medical Malpractice Statistics
4/21/2006 — An Institute of Medicine report estimated
that more than 98,000 preventable deaths occur each year because of medical negligence.
That’s more that twice the number of American lives lost during the Vietnam
War. Medical malpractice kills more people each year than motor vehicle accidents,
breast cancer, and AIDS, and affects patients from all walks of life. Actress,
Julie Andrews; comedian, Dana Carvey; artist, Andy Warhol; and former Houston
Astro’s pitcher, J.R. Richards were all victims.
A survey conducted by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found 42%
of Americans believe they have been affected, directly or indirectly by a medical
error, and 32% believe that the mistake has made a permanent impact on their
health. In another survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation, eight percent said
the medical negligence had caused the death of a family member.
One study found that more than one in every six hospitalized patients is a victim
of a medical mistake that prolongs their stay. The cost of medical malpractice
is staggering. Preventable medical errors cost the nation an estimated $17 to
$29 billion. These costs include both direct healthcare expenditures as well
as the cost of lost productivity.
Drug errors are the most common medical mistake with an estimated four out of
every 100 hospitalized patients, or 7,000 per year, experience some type of medical
error. Twenty percent of those drug mistakes are life-threatening.
Surgical errors are also a common category of medical negligence. The Joint Commissions
on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations reported in 2003 that it receives
between five and eight reports of “wrong surgery”, i.e., wrong patient,
wrong procedure, or wrong site – each month. The American Academy of Orthopedic
Surgeons estimates that an orthopedic surgeon’s chance of performing a
wrong site surgery during a 35-year career is 25%. An article in the Journal
of the American Medical Association reported that approximately 12,000 deaths
occur each year due to unnecessary surgery.
