Medical Malpractice
Approximately 0.75% of all patients admitted into hospitals each year receive negligent treatments worthy of medical malpractice cases. Further, between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in hospitals each year from preventable causes due to the negligence of a doctor. According to data from the National Practitioner Data Bank, 5.1% of medical doctors account for a massive 54.2% of medical malpractice payouts. Of the approximately 35,000 doctors who have had two or more malpractice cases since 1990, a mere 7.6% have been disciplined by the state. This pattern of undisciplined recurring malpractice is certainly frightening, especially when the consequences for innocent patients are death. Common forms of medical malpractice include:
- Misdiagnosis
- Delayed diagnosis
- Birth Injuries
- Surgical Injuries
- Incorrect Procedure
While the aforementioned forms of medical malpractice are unintentional, there are many forms of medical misconduct which constitute a medical malpractice case. A highly prevalent example of such is sexual misconduct. In a major survey six to ten percent of psychiatrists confessed to engaging in sexual contact with a patient at some point in their careers.
Nursing Home Abuse
A shocking thirty percent of all nursing homes in America have been cited for legitimate instances of abuse. Even scarier is the fact that the majority of instances of nursing home abuse go unreported. Nursing home abuse includes anything from negligent malpractice to assault and battery. The following is a brief list of commonly reported instances of nursing home abuse:
- Unexplained injuries
- Sexual assault/Rape
- Inadequate/Too much medication
- Unauthorized use of physical or chemical restraints
- Dehydration/Malnutrition
- Unnecessarily confining the elderly to their rooms
- Unsanitary conditions
- Infections
- Verbal/emotional abuse
It is important to learn about a nursing home before putting your loved one in its care. Information can be found in your state’s department of health website, including a list of substantiated claims regarding various nursing homes. If you believe you or your loved one has become a victim of nursing home abuse, it is important to act fast: cases of nursing home abuse can be very hard to prove, but haste can bring the odds on your favor.