Medical Malpractice Facts

You’re reading about medical malpractice facts for a reason. It may be because:

The hospital treated you or a loved one negligently. Or you may be wondering if you have a malpractice case.

If that sounds like you, or if you’re interested in malpractice for some other reason, here’s 12 medical malpractice facts you should know.

12 Medical Malpractice Facts

► One out of every three patients will be a victim of a medical error during their hospital stay. Truth is, there’s always going to be human error, but a third of all patients? That’s a lot.

► Malpractice reports indicate that defendants paid over $4 billion for medical malpractice lawsuits, in 2018 alone.  The average payout for a successful case was nearly $350,000. Money can’t fix what happened, but it can help. When you’re dealing with the emotional, physical, and financial turmoil malpractice causes? Anything good helps, at least a little.

► In 2018, payouts were for these top three malpractice allegations: 34.1% diagnosis, 21.4% surgery, and 21.1% treatment.

► Diagnosis errors cause 80,000 to 100,000 deaths in the US each year.

► About 34% of all doctors have been sued for malpractice. Why are the numbers so high?

► Unfortunately, medical doctors are under a lot more stress than your average profession. Stress brings with it burn-out, depression, and double the suicide rate of the general population. Many doctors admit that they’re overworked.

► You can’t wait too long to file a case. Every state is different, but there’s usually something called a “statute of limitations,” or a time frame you have to file. In Texas, for example, in most cases you have two years to seek legal action from the malpractice incident.

► Cases take time. Some are quicker than others, but it can take several months, and even years. Believe it or not, about 95% of cases settle out of court. This means that your law firm and the person or group you’re suing come to an agreement on their own.

► The majority of medical malpractice cases require no money up front. If your law firm believes you have a strong case they’ll actually foot the bill. If you win, your lawyer gets an agreed upon percentage and will also get reimbursed legal fees. The good news is, if you lose you don’t owe them anything.

► Having a team of medical malpractice experts on your side is vital. In a malpractice suit, you’re usually going against giant corporations. You need expert witnesses and an experienced firm to win. Do your research and carefully select your firm.

► Medical negligence is currently (at the time of this writing) the 3rd leading cause of death in the US.

► 10% of all US deaths are because of a medical error. Each with a family that deserves justice.

Now that we’ve covered the medical malpractice facts you were looking for (there’s more below too), let’s talk about justice.

Justice For Medical Malpractice Victims

We’ve all seen the commercials where the lawyer looks straight into the eyes of the camera and says “we’ll fight for you,” right?

It can be a bit cringey. But the truth is, nobody can fight for patients unless they reach out. And many malpractice victims don’t reach out until they’re aware. They need to realize they may have a case, and receive an invitation to fight for justice.

So, we’ve covered our medical malpractice facts. (Learn more about whether you have a medical malpractice case here.)

Now here’s our invitation:

If you or your loved one has experienced malpractice, we urge you to contact a local malpractice attorney to get justice.

If you’re in the Houston area, contact our malpractice lawyers with any questions you may have, and we’ll help you.

Here’s 14 More Bonus Medical Malpractice Facts

Here’s some more medical malpractice facts you should know. Enjoy!

► If your case goes to trial, either the judge or jury will decide on the outcome.

Unfortunately, if you win, the defendant can appeal the decision. Sometimes hospitals decide to do this and stretch the lawsuit even longer.

► A number of medical malpractice attorneys try to strike a deal with the patient before they talk to their attorney. That way, there’s a better chance of settling for less.

► Not all medical malpractice cases are things like failure to treat, or misdiagnosis, etc.

Some patients file a medical malpractice lawsuit because of sexual abused, for example. That said, most of them are due to misdiagnosis of a disease or illness.

► Due to how expensive litigation is, the harm or injury to the patient typically needs to be substantial. Otherwise it’s not worth pursuing.

► Surgeons and obstetrician/gynecologists are far more likely to get sued compared to primary care doctors and many others.

In this study, 85% of malpractice lawsuits involved surgeons and obstetrician/gynecologists.

► Cancer is the most common misdiagnosed condition in medical malpractice.

► 41% of US citizens claim they’ve experienced medical malpractice.

► Over 50% of physicians claimed they were “shocked” when sued for malpractice. That’s a shocking medical malpractice fact.

► Medical errors cause 10% of all deaths in the US. (According to Johns Hopkins Medicine.)

► State medical boards disciplined only 1 out of 13 doctors for medical malpractice.

(These were doctors who had at least 2 malpractice payouts against them. This took the last 12 years into consideration from the date of this study.)

► According to Medscape, most medical doctors will face a lawsuit at one point in their career.

► Medical malpractice can happen at any point. It could be during diagnosis, advice or treatment.

► 99% of physicians in high-risk specialties will get at least one medical malpractice lawsuit by 65. This one takes the cake for shocking medical malpractice facts.

► Many malpractice lawsuits involve more than one medical professional. And more than one medical professional can be held liable.