Far too often, patients in Arizona hospitals are harmed as a result of medical errors. Nationwide, there are about 1 million medical injuries each year, including 7,000 fatal injuries from medication errors and 12,000 deaths from unnecessary surgery. All of these preventable injuries result in about 85,000 medical malpractice lawsuits being filed against health care providers every year.
One case of medical malpractice that received widespread publicity involved the late comedian Joan Rivers. She died while undergoing an endoscopy, which is considered to be a routine surgery. An investigation into her death revealed that health care providers might have performed an unapproved biopsy, and at least one physician took a completely unnecessary photo of Rivers while she was unconscious.
Like Rivers, there are many patients who are injured or killed because of mistakes that are made during surgery. There are also many patients who suffer devastating injuries caused by medication errors. With all of the data that is available about medication dosages, these types of errors shouldn’t occur. However, failures in oversight and overly tired hospital staff can often result in a patient being given an incorrect dosage of medication or the wrong medication altogether.
A patient who has sustained injuries because of hospital negligence may want to speak with a medical malpractice attorney to determine the remedies that may be available for pursuing compensation for the damages that have resulted. Similarly, the surviving family members of a patient who died as a result of a hospital error may have recourse as well. In each case, the attorney can review the patient’s hospital records and, with the assistance of medical experts, attempt to demonstrate that there was a failure to exhibit the appropriate standard of care.