Chicago Accident and Injury Lawyer Blog

The medical malpractice attorneys at the Law Offices of Jeffrey J. Kroll just read an informative article by Dr. Barry Bialek on CoverMd.com. There, Dr. Bialek explains the top ten most expensive medical errors, considering cost of health care as well as the patient's loss of income due to the medical error. The injuries include brain injuries, errors that lead to quadriplegia and death due to myocardial infarct.

Seven of the ten most expensive medical errors are those that lead to severe brain injuries, with birth trauma as the number one most costly injury, since many who suffer birth injuries may have a normal life expectancy, yet require lifelong medical care. Even brain injuries as a result of falls are discussed, since a failure to diagnosis a brain injury may cause a severe subdural hematoma and even coma. Next, errors that lead to quadriplegia are found to be the eighth and ninth most costly errors since many who suffer these injuries will require constant skilled health care for the duration of their lives. Finally, death from untreated, unstable angina is found to be the tenth most costly medical error because many who die from this condition are typically supporting families at the time of death and the loss may impose a severe economic strain on the surviving family.

The medical errors are attributed to technical medical errors, failure to use indicated tests, avoidable delay in treatment, failure to take precautions, failure to act on test results, inadequate monitoring after a procedure, inadequate follow-up after treatment, avoidable delay in diagnosis, and improper medication dose or method of use. All could amount to medical negligence by a health care provider.