We see preventable and avoidable medical negligence cases every day. Cases in which someone loses a husband, wife, child, parent, or friend. The number of people who are injured or killed by medical negligence is staggering. Don’t take my word for it. On September 22, 2015, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released its report, “Improving Diagnosis in Health Care.” This is the third report in the IOM Health Care Quality Initiatives, beginning with, “To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System” and then “Crossing the Quality Chasm: A New Health System for the 21st Century.” These reports estimate that over 200,000 Americas die each year due to medical negligence. What does that mean? It means that death due to medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. behind only heart disease and cancer.
I try not to get angry when someone speaks negatively about lawyers who represent victims of medical negligence. I think all professionals should be held accountable if they harm others due to negligence. However, it is pretty rare when someone “inside” the medical profession asks for accountability…that is until you hear Dr. Carole Gunn talk about the unnecessary death of her sister, Anna. Check out her TED talk here: