A recent exchange of op-ed pieces on CNN.com caught our attention this week. The topic was patient rights and whether patients should have the right to protect themselves in the event of medical error and medical malpractice.
Most people assume that diseases are the top 20 causes of death in America. Sadly – there is another big contributor.
In the JOURNAL of the AMERICAN MEDICAL ASSOCIATION (JAMA: Vol 284, No 4), an article written by Dr Barbara Starfield, MD, MPH, of the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, showed that medical errors and medical malpractice may be the third leading cause of death in the United States.
The third leading cause…
Over 200,000 people die in America each year from medical mistakes. That’s the equivalent of four jumbo 737s crashing each and every day. And many tens of thousands more patients suffer the long term consequences of medical malpractice.
Medical errors, including medical malpractice, are common in Connecticut – and the mistakes made change people’s lives irrevocably.
What is the normal recourse for a family harmed by medical malpractice in Connecticut? Luckily – in this state, we have a civil justice system that allows families to seek accountability from medical providers for preventable errors causing harm. This same system provides an incentive to providers to continually seek to improve the quality of medical care. As the op-ed piece by attorney Alice McLarty states: “…when no one is accountable, no one is safe.”
We agree.
One of the arguments for stripping patients of their constitutional rights is that medical malpractice lawsuits drive up medical costs while having little impact on the quality of care. The Government Accountability Office and the Congressional Budget Office have both said that taking away patients’ rights will not significantly lower health care costs. And in fact, in states like Texas, where patient rights have been significantly rolled back, there has been no halt to the rise in the cost of medicine and the quality of care has not improved (U.S. Agency for Health Care Research and Quality report).
If you are ever the victim of medical malpractice call a qualified Connecticut medical malpractice lawyer. A knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer can help to ensure that your rights are protected.
For over 60 years, the medical malpractice lawyers at RisCassi and Davis have been working hard to protect our clients. What’s more, all of our medical malpractice lawyers have been honored by inclusion in the 2012 New England Super Lawyers and Rising Stars… and the Hartford law firm of RisCassi and Davis is “Top Listed” in the 2012 edition of The Best Lawyers in America® with the most listed attorneys representing injury victims in personal injury law in Hartford. The firm is also ranked a Tier 1 law firm in Hartford in Personal Injury Litigation – Plaintiffs by U.S. News-Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms.” We have a great team dedicated to medical malpractice cases.
Please call us if we can help you.