When we are sick or injured, we expect the medical professionals who are caring for us to make protecting our health and safety a top priority. The North Carolina medical malpractice attorneys with HensonFuerst Injury Lawyers explain that unfortunately, mistakes happen in the medical field, and such errors may occur more frequently than you think.
An article from Vox highlights one study that concludes medical mistakes kill more Americans each year than car accidents and new disease outbreaks combined. Researchers found as many as 12 percent of patients in U.S. hospitals will experience some sort of error in care during their stay.
So what are some of the most common medical errors that are reported today? Bedsores—or pressure ulcers—are one of the most regularly reported and preventable medical mistakes that occur today. These lesions contributed to, or caused, approximately 58,000 lives in 2006 alone. Prescription errors, like giving a patient the wrong dose or kind of drug, are also a leading contributor to medical errors today, accounting for roughly 7,000 injuries per year. Both these causes of medical errors and most other reported mistakes have one thing in common: human error.
If you’ve been harmed as the result of a doctor’s mistake or negligence, you have legal rights that need to be protected. The North Carolina personal injury lawyers with HensonFuerst encourage you to speak with a qualified legal representative who may be able to help.