To error is human, and in the medical profession to error can also be life threatening. Thousands of people each year suffer from injuries and even death after a mistake is made in the course of routine hospital treatment. Medical malpractice happens everyday from local North Carolina (NC) hospitals to doctor’s offices around the country.
Recently a group of journalists created Dead by Mistake, a comprehensive collection of medical errors reported by journalists through out the United States. Dead by Mistake shows the personal stories of medical errors as well as nationwide statistics. The site also covers individual state policies concerning the reporting of medical errors. Shockingly enough, North Carolina (NC) has no reporting system in place.
Reporting system or no patients in North Carolina (NC) are not without risk. I recently wrote an article about a situation in New Hanover, North Carolina (NC) were hundreds of patients were potentially exposed to blood borne illnesses after a diabetes testing machine malfunctioned and patients were tested with the same lancet. This medical mistake could have exposed patients to a host of potentially fatal illnesses.
Medical malpractice cases often don’t end at the mistake. Often, nurses and doctors do not report the error, which can lead to even bigger problems down the road. My colleague, Randy Appleton, recently wrote an article about nurses’ hesitation to report medical errors. According to the article, medical errors will go unreported because nurses fail to realize the seriousness of the error, or simply do not have the motivation to file the lengthy report required.
If you or a loved on has lived through medical malpractice you know what a physical and emotional turmoil it can be. Medical errors can be costly. At their worst, medical errors result in permanent injury or even death, but even milder medical malpractice can still take its toll on your life. The extra cost of additional medical procedures, loss of work, and emotional distress can be devastating. A personal injury attorney can help ease some of the distress, working with you to get the compensation you need and get you and your family back to life as normal before the gross error occurred.
Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), with an office also in Elizabeth City, in Northeast North Carolina (NC), practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our Carolina injury law website is: http://carolina.hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits the injury law blogs Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, as well as the Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard and also hosts a YouTube injury law video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.
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