Articles

Medical Negligence Lawsuits: Few and Far Between

March 7, 2016

Although much attention has been given to “medical negligence liability crises,” in reality, very few injured patients ever file a medical negligence lawsuit despite the fact that 80 percent of medical errors involve physical injuries resulting in major disability or death.   According to the National Center for State Courts (NCSC) only about six percent of the civil caseload is comprised of tort cases. Of that subsection, just three percent are medical negligence cases.

When the number of medical negligence payouts made every year is compared to the number of suspected deaths from preventable medical errors, it is easy to see why researchers have concluded that there are too few malpractice claims, not too many.

Further, one of the principal myths surrounding medical malpractice is its effect on overall health care costs. Medical malpractice is actually a tiny percentage of health care costs, in part because medical malpractice claims are far less frequent than many people believe.  According to the Congressional Budget Office, malpractice costs amount to less than 2 percent of overall health care spending. Thus, even a reduction of 25 percent to 30 percent in malpractice costs would lower health care costs by only about 0.4 percent to 0.5 percent, and the likely effect on health insurance premiums would be comparably small.

If you have been injured by medical malpractice or negligence at a military hospital, we can help.  Contact our experienced military medical malpractice lawyers for a free, confidential consultation: by phone 1-877-695-8789 (24/7), by e-mail LawHelp@MilitaryMedicalMalpractice.com or you may fill out our form on the top right side of this page.

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