You may have heard that medical malpractice is the third-leading cause of death in the United States. These claims usually go on to point out that heart disease and cancer are the top causes of death, with medical malpractice coming in next. Lower down the list are things like unintentional accidents, such as car accidents.
That being said, this take is somewhat controversial. There are those who believe that the number is vastly overstated and just serves to sow distrust in the public. You should look at both sides of the story:
Extrapolating data
First of all, researchers who made the initial claims admitted that they had limited data to go on. Part of the reason for this was that there wasn’t a lot of funding for it. It’s also possible that medical errors are under-reported. This suggests that even their claim that a third of deaths come from medical malpractice may be less than the true total.
Original source
The problem that critics have is that this limited data may have come from sources that were not necessarily intended to contribute to a report like this. For instance, part of the death rate was based upon a study looking at those who are 65 years old and older. This is clearly not representative of the entire population, but that death percentage was still added into the study to determine that medical malpractice was so dangerous.
This isn’t to say that medical malpractice doesn’t happen, of course. But it’s simply to point out that tracking the statistics can be difficult and the situation is complicated. That is why, if you’ve been injured or lost a loved one, it is so important for you to fully understand all of the legal options you have. Working with an experienced team can be beneficial.
