Medical errors kill an alarming number of Americans

As a U.S. citizen, you probably have some clear thoughts about the American health care system. Regardless of those thoughts, health care in the U.S. tends to be at least decent for most. Still, medical errors kill an alarming number of Americans every single year.

According to reporting from CNBC, medical errors are the third-most-common cause of death in the U.S. In fact, between 250,000 and 400,000 Americans die annually because of medical mistakes. These numbers should cause you to question the actual cause of death for anyone who dies in the hospital.

Why do fatal medical errors happen?

Having as many as 400,000 Americans die from medical errors is unacceptable, especially when hospitals should have procedures in place to prevent mistake-related fatalities. So, why do fatal medical errors continue to happen all too frequently?

Broadly, the high number of deadly medical errors in U.S. hospitals is due to one or more of the following reasons:

• Improperly trained hospital staff
• Judgment errors
• System defects
• Adverse health effects that are preventable

How can you know why your loved one died?

As you may imagine, hospital administrators can be reluctant to own up to medical errors. While it may be comfortable to believe your loved one died from an injury or illness, you may be eligible for substantial financial compensation for fatal medical errors.

Getting to the bottom of your relative’s cause of death may require accessing hospital records, interviewing doctors and speaking with other health care professionals. Ultimately, though, if your loved one dies because of someone’s medical mistake, you deserve to have answers.