When you are ill or simply being proactive about your health, you may visit a hospital for a check-up or treatment. The last thing you would expect is to have your health worsened. Too often, though, hospitals threaten patients’ health as much as they improve it. This is evidenced by the striking number of preventable deaths and illnesses that occur in hospitals each year.
According to the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, mistakes in hospitals claim the lives of approximately 440,000 patients annually in the United States. Consider the following three common causes of death that can be prevented in a hospital setting:
1. Surgical errors
It is, unfortunately, true that many deaths occur because of preventable surgical errors committed by health care professionals. Surgeons, nurses and other professionals involved in a surgery all need to be intensely careful, but too often, small mistakes endanger a patient’s life, and the results can be fatal. This form of medical malpractice is one of the most common and one of the most frequently deadly.
2. Infections and diseases
Many patients, too, are exposed to infections and diseases while in a hospital that they would not otherwise be susceptible to. Patients who are recovering from surgery and other procedures may have weakened immune systems, and the diseases found in hospitals can easily spread from one patient to another. Unfortunately, this is often due to negligence, and it can endanger the lives of patients who have been infected.
3. Misdiagnoses
Yet another common cause of injury and death in a hospital is that of misdiagnoses. Medical professionals are not infallible, but it is too common that they treat patients hastily and neglect important information in the process. This can lead to improperly diagnosed and treated ailments, which, in turn, can lead to worsened health and even death. It is vital that doctors ensure their diagnoses are correct and their treatments are appropriate.
Medical Malpractice cases are complex. You will need an experienced attorney to review the potential case. Expert witnesses are required before a case can even be filed in West Virginia or Ohio.
