Medical Malpractice

Charlotte, NC - Medical Malpractice Lawyer

The medical field sets a standard of care that healthcare professionals are expected to meet in order to offer good medical care to their patients. When a hospital, physician or other healthcare professional fails to meet accepted medical standards resulting in harm to a patient, this failure is considered medical malpractice. Here are some facts you may not know regarding medical malpractice in the U.S.

• Between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans die in hospitals each year due to preventable medical errors. (Institute of Medicine, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, 2000.)
• The annual cost to society for medical errors in hospitals is $17 billion to $29 billion. (Institute of Medicine, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System, 2000.)
• The total amount spent on medical malpractice insurance in 2000 was $6.4 billion - at least three to five times less than the Institute of Medicine’s estimate of the costs of malpractice to society. (National Association of Insurance Commissioners, Statistical Compilation of Annual Statement Information for Property/Casualty Insurance Companies in 2000, (2001).)
• Malpractice payouts by physicians and their insurers were a mere $4.5 billion in 2001 - less than 1 percent of the country’s overall health care costs of $1.4 trillion. (National Practitioner Data Bank, as quoted in Business Week, March 3, 2003.)

While the medical profession or insurance companies would have you believe that medical malpractice lawsuits threaten to wipe out the medical profession, the facts speak for themselves. The truth is that only 5 out of 100 doctors commit over half of the malpractice errors, and these physicians experience few consequences and go largely undisciplined. Most repeated malpractice errors are carried out by the same doctors.

Recognizing Medical Malpractice

Because medical science has become increasingly more technical and specialized, the skills and expertise required to recognize when medical malpractice has occurred has also become more demanding. Many lawyers for this reason do not have the desire or capability to represent clients in medical malpractice cases.

At the Law Offices of Paul Whitfield & Associates, we have access to a network of healthcare specialists, physicians, nurse consultants and other technical experts who assist us in preparing medical malpractice cases. These types of cases are often complex and require exceptional legal skills and experience. Our law firm has the capability, experience and resources to prevail when taking on a medical malpractice lawsuit.

We offer a free consultation to help you review the possibility of medical malpractice and to discuss the prospects of filing a claim. Please call our office or send us an email to see how we can help.