Bernie Sanders Website: Medical Mistakes 3rd Leading Cause of Death

Bernie Sanders, Democrat candidate for President states on his sanders.senate.gov website:

“Preventable medical errors in hospitals are the third leading cause of death in the United States, a Senate panel was told today. Only heart disease and cancer kill more Americans.”

It is quite disturbing to know that so many lives are lost due to negligence and malpractice by physicians, nurses, and other healthcare personnel.

In testimony before the Senate Subcommittee on Primary Health and Aging, it was revealed that thousands of patients still are dying unnecessarily from infections, preventable blood clots, adverse drug events, falls, over exposure to medical radiation and diagnostic errors.

The numbers are difficult to nail down precisely, because deaths due to infection are often not directly caused by a specific negligent act or inaction, but by carelessness. A Department of Health and Human Services report in 2010 said 180,000 Medicare patients die each year from preventable adverse events in the hospital. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2011 said 1-in-25 hospital patients get an infection from being in the hospital; 700,000 of them get sick as a result and 75,000 die.

Some people may decide to file a complaint with the health department for the state in which the death occurred, but it should be noted that the department has limited authority, and they are not able to protect your rights. From one state health department website: “Action which may be taken against health care practitioners is administrative in nature (e.g., reprimand, fine, restriction of practice, remedial education, administrative cost, probation, license suspension or license revocation). The department cannot represent you in civil matters to recover fees paid or seek remedies for injuries. You may wish to consult a private attorney regarding these matters.

This is where MalpracticeAttorneys.com can help. We are the leading online source for malpractice news and information and we provide free referrals to victims of malpractice. Our attorney-partners have been specially selected for their sterling reputations protecting the rights of malpractice victims, and gaining them the compensation for their injuries that is reasonable and just as determined by the courts.

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