Medical Malpractice Statistics
Orlando doctors and hospitals continue in their efforts to prevent injured patients from holding them responsible for the harm and losses caused by medical malpractice. Rather than take responsibility for the harm caused by medical neglect, doctors and hospitals continue to try to change the laws so they will never be held accountable for serious injury and death. While you may not even realize that individuals can NO longer recover full and fair compensation for serious injury or death caused by medical malpractice, you should know some of the statistics that doctors and hospitals do not usually share. As Orlando medical malpractice lawyers, we think people should know the truth about medical malpractice so they can protect themselves and their families.
A study by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences estimated that as many as 98,000 patients may be killed each year in hospitals alone as a result of medical errors. Other studies also found that there is a serious national problem. Interestingly, just 5.1 percent of doctors account for 54.2 percent of the malpractice claims paid according to data from the National Practitioner Data Bank. Of the 35,000 doctors who have had two or more malpractice payouts since 1990, only 7.6 percent of them have been disciplined. And only 13 percent of doctors with five medical malpractice payouts have been disciplined. That means few doctors ever take responsibility for their bad medical practice unless a patient brings a medical malpractice claim.
In addition, doctors and their families have admitted to the dangers in our hospitals and doctors' office. Specifically, a survey of doctors reported in the New England Journal of Medicine found that more than a third of the doctors said they or their family members had experienced medical errors, most leading to serious health consequences.
When medical malpractice strikes you or your family you must know how to hold the doctors or hospital responsible for the injury they cause. The Florida Medical Malpractice Book, Seeking Justice: An Insider's Guide for the Injured. explains what to do if you believe you or a loved one has been a victim of medical malpractice. It also provides a solid method for injured people to find the right lawyer- one who The Florida Bar has certified as a medical malpractice specialist. For anyone injured in Florida, a Free copy of this book can be a great place to start.
Out of the 80,000 Florida lawyers- only 2 percent are certified as specialists in civil trial law, which includes medical malpractice. Everyone should understand that medical malpractice cases have many complex issues that lawyers who do not specialize may not be aware of. Unfortunately, if a lawyer does not know the important issues involved in medical malpractice cases, it is the client who will suffer.
