Virginia Medical Mistakes: As Many As 1 In 7 May Suffer

In 1984, Harvard researchers tried to determine how many patients are injured by medical malpractice in hospital settings. These researchers found that 1% of the sample of patients treated in New York state hospitals in 1984 were injured because of medical mistakes or negligence - and one-quarter of those died. Their estimate was 234,000 injuries and 80,000 deaths.

A new report released by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services revels that previous studies may dramatically underestimate the amount of patients harmed by medical mistakes - particularly in patients over 65. The study found that one in seven Medicare patients are harmed by treatment mistakes while admitted in a hospital.

The researchers analyzed the records of 780 Medicare patients hospitalized in October 2008. The researchers looked for records of mistakes, prescription errors and unavoidable consequences of treatment, such as previously unknown drug allergies or medication side effects. In October 2008, 134,000 Medicare patients suffered at least one adverse event or treatment error while hospitalized; 44 percent of these were preventable. The researchers concluded that these types of adverse events or treatment errors contribute to as many as 15,000 medical malpractice deaths per month or 180,000 preventable deaths each year.

Medicare is the U.S. government social insurance program that provides health insurance coverage to people who are 65 and older, or those who meet certain qualifications.

In response to the findings, the Department of Health and Human Services Medicare has announced the formation of an "innovation center" Tuesday designed to develop and test ways to improve quality of health care while lowering health care costs for all patients, not just Medicare recipients. The program is mandated by the new health care law to help Medicare improve patient safety.

Patients who are concerned about harmful mistakes in the hospital can follow these two simple tips to improve their chances of staying safe.

1. Bring an informed friends or relative with you to the hospital
2. Bring a list of your medications and dosages. Make sure that any medication you are given matches your list.

If you have been a victim of a medical error in a Virginia hospital, Norfolk medical malpractice attorney Lawrence Land is on your side. Contact Lawrence Land at 757-251-0198 to schedule a free consultation, and learn if you have a Virginia personal injury case.

To learn more, download Lawrence Land’s free book about personal injury law: “5 Deadly Sins That Can Destroy Your Injury Claim.”