When a person undergoes a surgical procedure, no matter how simple or complex, there is always a chance of risk. The risk stems not just from the medical procedure, but also from the process of administering anesthesia and patient care.
In 2012, the total medical malpractice payout throughout the US was 12,142, amounting to one claim every 43 minutes. New York ranked number one in the top five states for medical malpractice payouts with an astounding $763,088,250. The medical negligence problem in New York is alarming and is one of the states in the nation where medical malpractice filings remained nearly level.
Any parent would be devastated to know that their baby has suffered injury or has a medical complication because of c-section mistakes. Healthcare professionals and doctors in the delivery room have a fantastic responsibility of safe and sound delivery of an infant.
In New York State, a wrongful death case can be pursued by the deceased person’s family member in a manner, which the deceased person could have pursued in court had that person been alive.
In normal medical malpractice cases, the “guilt” of a medical practitioner is defended in court by an obvious argument that someone else in the same situation might also have done it. Thus most medical errors wind up in civil courts in the form of malpractice charges.
Between 1999 and 2008, a high proportion of medical malpractice claims were filed in New York State. Court Statistics.org reports that in 2008 medical malpractice cases resulted in 7.4% of all tort cases, and 1.1% of all civil lawsuits filed in the state. As medical malpractice laws differ from state to state, it is important to understand the New York State laws pertaining to medical malpractice before filing a lawsuit.
Doctors in New York and around the country often have extremely poor handwriting, but pharmacists generally do a good job of deciphering what they have written and most prescriptions are filled correctly. However, when prescriptions are not filled properly, the consequences can be fatal.
Hospitals, clinics and other medical facilities in New York and around the country are finding it increasingly difficult to hire registered nurses. The shortage of qualified nurses is a nationwide problem, and it is expected to become worse in the coming years as the baby boom generation continues to retire in ever greater numbers. Projections by the Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that more than 500,000 new registered nurses will be needed in the United States by 2022.
New York patients may find it interesting that poor communications between patients and hospital staff contributed to about 7,000 of 23,000 medical malpractice claims that were filed between 2009 and 2013. Of these claims, more than 1,700 involved the death of a patient. The numbers indicate that miscommunication is a major problem that needs to be addressed by hospitals and staff.
During the 2014 fiscal year, the number of medical malpractice claims in New York was 876 and in the fiscal year of 2015, that number went up to more than 900. In 2012, the total number of medical malpractice payouts in the United States was 12,142.
