Medical Negligence, Leading Cause of Death

By Paul da Costa on March 11, 2015

A recent study in the Journal of Patient Safety reported that deaths from medical negligence may be higher than previously thought. A toxicologist that works for NASA and runs a program called Patient Safety America, John T. James, conducted the research by analyzing other studies about medical negligence in hospitals. He concluded that each year, 210,000 patients die due to medical negligence.

Because information about such deaths is incomplete, however, it is likely that the true number of deaths caused by medical negligence is closer to 400,000 per year. This would make medical negligence the third leading cause of death in the country. Growing concern over the frequency of medical negligence has led to Senate investigations into the problem. Nevertheless, it is difficult to pinpoint which errors are most prevalent, and thus, which errors should be most focused on for prevention.

If you or a loved one suffered injury or death as a result of medical negligence, you can gain just compensation for your injury or loss. Call Paul M. da Costa, Esq. at Snyder & Sarno, LLC today for help with your case. He can be reached at (973) 274-5200.