A surgeon’s mistake. A physician’s misdiagnosis. An error by an OB/GYN during delivery. A prescription dispensed in the wrong dose or to the wrong patient. Failure to properly sterilize equipment and surfaces.
Medical malpractice takes many forms. When a health care practitioner, hospital, or clinic fails to do everything appropriate to care for a patient, the consequences can be dire. More than 250,000 deaths occur in the United States each year as a result of preventable medical mistakes. Hundreds of billions of dollars are spent treating injuries and illnesses that would not have occurred had doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and health care facility managers exercised extra caution. (more…)