New research confirms 440,000 people die every year because of preventable medical
errors. That is equivalent to more than the entire population of the cities
of Charleston (125,583) , Columbia (131,686), Greenville (60,709), Myrtle
Beach (28,292) , Hilton Head (38,366), Beaufort (12,788), and Spartanburg
(37,401), dying from a medical error each year.
Preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the
United States and cost our country tens of billions of dollars a year.
Despite this serious epidemic, groups are working hard in the U.S. Congress
and state legislatures throughout the country to limit accountability
and access to the civil justice system when patients are harmed or killed
by medical negligence.
The civil justice system gives families of patients who have died or have
been injured by medical negligence an avenue to seek accountability. It
also provides an incentive to health care providers to improve patient
care. Removing that accountability and incentive leaves people at risk
for more injuries from negligent care.
Read the Facts:
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440,000 patients die every year from preventable medical errors. [Journal of Patient Safety]
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Preventable medical errors cost our country tens of billions of dollars a year. [Institute of Medicine]
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One in three patients who are admitted to the hospital will experience
a medical error. [Health Affairs]
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Studies of wrong site, wrong surgery, wrong patient procedures show that
“never events” are happening at an alarming rate of up to
40 times per week in U.S. hospitals. [Archives of Surgery]
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Medical negligence lawsuits amount to just one-half of one percent of all
health care costs. [Congressional Budget Office]
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Medical negligence cases represent well under 2 percent of all civil cases. [National Center for State Courts]
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Researchers at Harvard University found that 97 percent of cases were meritorious,
concluding, “Portraits of a malpractice system that is stricken
with frivolous litigation are overblown.” [New England Journal of Medicine]
Federal Legislation:
In the 112th Congress, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the "Help
Efficient, Accessible, Low Cost, Timely, Health Care (HEALTH) Act of 2011" (
H.R. 5) on March 22, 2012. This bill aims to take away the legal rights of injured
patients, removing any incentives to improve patient safety and leaving
people at risk for more injuries from negligent care. This bill would
impose one-size-fits-all caps on damages, not just when injured by medical
negligence, but also defective drugs, medical devices, or abuse suffered
in nursing homes.
This bill protects negligent health providers and takes away the rights
of injured patients. Opposition to H.R. 5 has ranged from
patient safety groups to
conservative legal scholars and elected officials.