How Often Do Medical Errors Lead to Patient Harm?

Medical care is supposed to help restore health, but every year, thousands of people are injured and killed by medical treatments. It’s estimated that medical errors in the United States contribute to over 250,000 deaths every year.

Evidence shows that preventable medical mistakes like misdiagnosis and medication errors can cause long-term illness, lifelong disability, and even death.

Here’s what you need to know about how often these errors happen and how they can be prevented.

Medical errors aren’t rare

Over the years, studies consistently show that medical errors aren’t rare – they’re considered the third leading cause of death next to heart disease and cancer. For example, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) reported that 25% of Medicare patients experience some type of harm while hospitalized, and 43% of adverse events were preventable. Preventability is a key factor in determining malpractice in a lawsuit.

Adverse events can extend a hospital stay, prolong recovery time, and induce complications. If you’ve been harmed by a medical error you believe was caused by negligence, it’s crucial to contact a medical malpractice attorney to find out if you have a case.

Diagnostic errors are common

Diagnostic errors are particularly dangerous. A missed or delayed diagnosis can allow a condition to get worse. In an outpatient setting, symptoms are often too subtle to notice or are misinterpreted. Diagnostic errors delay accurate diagnosis, which often results in a lack of treatment or limited options by the time the mistake is discovered.

When a diagnosis is delayed, the consequences can extend beyond the impact of illness. Patients might pay for unnecessary tests and receive incorrect treatments that cause harm.

Medication errors are dangerous

Prescribing the wrong dose, the wrong drug, or a drug that is contraindicated according to a patient’s file can lead to harm. Every day in the United States, at least one person dies from medication errors, and more than one million are harmed every year.

These errors can happen at any stage, including prescribing, transcribing, dispensing, or administering the medication. Incomplete medical histories can lead to prescriptions for medication that cause allergic reactions, internal bleeding, organ damage, and life-threatening overdoses. But even when mistakes aren’t fatal, a simple medication error can prolong a hospital stay and require even more treatment to reverse the damage.

Surgical errors are largely preventable

According to the CDC, around 1 in 31 hospital patients experience at least one healthcare-related infection. All surgical procedures are risky to a certain degree, but preventable errors create avoidable harm. Although it’s rare, sometimes doctors operate on the wrong site or perform the wrong procedure. Other times, surgeons leave instruments inside the patient’s body, causing infection and requiring additional surgeries.

Other preventable surgical errors include anesthesia errors and failure to monitor a patient during recovery. Sometimes doctors fail to follow up with patients who report complications.

Hospital-acquired infections are a serious problem

Infections acquired while in the hospital are a major source of preventable injury. Sometimes these infections are fatal, but they can be prevented with proper protocols. For example, improper catheter care significantly increases the risk of infection. These infections extend hospital stays and increase the need for antibiotics, as well as increasing the risk for long-term complications.

Communication breakdowns contribute to patient harm

Often, harm results from miscommunications during shift changes and other handoffs. Incomplete documentation and missing notes can cause duplicated or incorrect treatments, and patients who don’t fully understand instructions might not take their prescribed medication correctly.

Medical errors take a physical and emotional toll on the body

Although the main injury is to the body, medical errors also negatively impact mental health. When complications stifle recovery and keep a patient in pain, they can experience anxiety, depression, and become fearful of healthcare providers. It can also create financial strain from the extra treatments and extended hospital stays.

Medical harm is sometimes considered malpractice

Not every undesirable medical outcome is preventable, but a large number of events stem from avoidable mistakes. Some of these situations are considered medical malpractice, but only when negligence can be proven. Often, medical errors are unintentional and point to systemic failures within the healthcare setting rather than intentional or negligent harm.

Medical errors are widespread

The evidence makes it clear that medical errors that harm patients aren’t isolated incidents, and preventable harm is widespread. When patients know how common these errors are, they’re in a better position to ask questions and recognize when something might have gone wrong.

From there, they can address their grievances with their provider or seek compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit.