Medical Errors Now Third Leading Cause of Death in U.S.

In a new study from Johns Hopkins, researchers have determined that medical errors are now the third leading cause of death in the United States. 10 percent of all- ALL- deaths are preventable.

Let’s stop for a moment and let that sink in, shall we?

1 out of 10 deaths are preventable. They are not due to cancer, or heart disease, or a car accident. Or a lightning strike. Or the flu.

Preventable. Didn’t have to happen.

…medical error leading to patient death is an under-recognized epidemic,” Makary and his co-author, Dr. Michael Daniel, also of Johns Hopkins, write in Tuesday’s British Medical Journal. They define medical errors as lapses in judgment, skill or coordination of care; mistaken diagnoses; system failures that lead to patient deaths or the failure to rescue dying patients; and preventable complications of care.

According to data from the National Practitioner Data Bank, these are the percentages of alleged injury in medical malpractice claims in 2012:

Death: 31 percent
Significant permanent injury: 19 percent
Major permanent injury: 18 percent
Quadriplegic, brain damage, lifelong care: 12 percent
Minor permanent injury: 8 percent
Major temporary injury: 7 percent
Minor temporary injury: 3 percent
Emotional injury only: 1 percent
Insignificant injury: 0.4 percent

Is it a coincidence that medical errors have skyrocketed as tort “reform” has been enacted, limiting the liability of doctors? Wasn’t one of the arguments for tort “reform” that most lawsuits were frivolous? Wasn’t the argument that we needed to protect doctors and nurses and hospitals from greedy patients?

The third leading cause of death. Simply appalling.

Read the full article here.