New York City residents may have access to some of the best medical professionals in the world, but even the best doctors can sometimes make mistakes. Some serious diseases, including some specific types of cancer, can be difficult to diagnose because they have few or no symptoms in the early stages when they are the most treatable.
A New York mother was awarded $50 million after she sued her obstetrician for injuries she suffered during a 2009 childbirth. In addition to suffering tissue lacerations, the woman was given an unnecessary episiotomy that did not heal correctly. The woman’s digestive system was also damaged. There should not have been any complications with her second childbirth.
According to the American Medical Association, more than 60% of doctors aged 55 and over in the United States have been sued at least once. Failure to diagnose was the leading cause of malpractice allegation in 2012. 10% to 20% of cases involved incorrect, delayed, or missed diagnosis.
According to the American Chiropractic Association, close to 20 million people visit a chiropractor’s office to get relief from various aches and pains and conditions each year. According to the Global Burden of Disease 2010, low back pain is the main cause of disability across the world. People in the United States spend at least $50 billion each year on back pain and 50% of all working in the US report that they have symptoms of back pain every year.
According to the American Medical Association, medical malpractice lawsuits have been filed against 42% of physicians in the United States at some point in their careers. 20% were sued two times during their professional lives. According to the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO), over 24.4 million people aged 40 years and older in the US are affected by cataracts and over 2.7 million are affected by glaucoma. Needless to say, countless eye surgery is performed every year.
