Researchers have found that there have been nearly 10,000 reported instances of "never events", or surgical mistakes that have no legitimate reason for their ever happening, within the past 20 years.
These mistakes, which include a surgeon leaving a foreign object in a patient's body, performing surgery on the wrong part of the body, or performing the wrong surgery entirely, cost the healthcare industry an estimated $1.3 billion in malpractice payments over the 20 year time period.
Researchers at John Hopkins University believe these staggering figures largely underestimate the number of never events that actually occur throughout the United States, since prior studies have shown that most patients do not file medical claims when a mistake is made.
This fact has allowed these life-threatening mistakes to continue to occur at unacceptable rates. Read the full details here:
Surgeons Still Make Preventable Mistakes
Medical mistakes and errors unfortunately continue to happen every day in the U.S. This malpractice leads to wrongful death, needless surgery and various areas of damages to thousands of patients every year.
If you feel you are a victim of medical malpractice, contact Crandall & Pera Law for a consultation before the statute of limitations expires.