Preventable Hospital-Acquired Infections Responsible for 100,000 Deaths a Year | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

A new report unveils staggering statistics regarding preventable medical errors that lead to thousands of deaths in the United States each year. One of the most shocking facts is that 100,000 people die due to hospital-acquired infections every year. These are infections people obtain after visiting a hospital.

Here’s a video discussing hospital-acquired infections…

Most infections that become clinically evident after 48 hours of hospitalization are considered hospital-acquired, according to EMedicine.com. The highest rates of infection were in the burn intensive care unit (ICU), the neonatal ICU, and the pediatric ICU. This is especially troubling since the neonatal and pediatric units focus on children’s health.

Our law firm, which only handles injury law, has represented clients hurt after being incorrectly prescribed medications at hospitals, so we have experience dealing with the shortcomings our of medical system.

Health care reform needs to include reforming the safety standards and practices in our hospitals. Far too many people are dying due to preventable infections. Understand that informed consent forms disclose that infections are a possible complication of surgical procedures, so these type cases are difficult to win as a medical negligence case-unless there are provable deviations from medical standards, or a failure of a doctor or hospital to treat an infection once it should have been apparent.

About the Editors: Shapiro & Appleton& Duffan personal injury law firm is based in Virginia (VA), near the NE North Carolina (NC) border and handles car,truck,railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. Our lawyers proudly edit the Virginia Beach Injuryboard, Norfolk Injuryboard, and Northeast North Carolina Injuryboard as a pro bono public information service. Lawyers licensed in: VA, NC, SC, WV, DC, KY.

 

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