• Sexual abuse of or sexual misconduct with a patient is also a serious issue. Six to ten percent of psychiatrists surveyed confessed to having engaged in sexual contact with a patient and in a longitudinal study.
   

• Two studies surveyed residents to determine the incidence of substance use. Recent alcohol use was extremely high in both groups (87% within the last year for emergency medicine residents; 74% within the past 30 days for surgery residents).Additional findings proved extremely disturbing; although the emergency medicine program directors accurately determined the incidence of alcohol use amongst residents, they dramatically underestimated the percent who were actually impaired by the substance as indicated by diagnostic tests (1% estimate impaired vs. 13% diagnosed.)
   

• This does not bode well for creating a medical system that prevents mishaps before they occur. And although the surgery residents reported negligible recent cocaine use, when employed, the drug was typically obtained from the hospital supply, indicating a greater ease of access than for the general population.
   

• Residents excessive work hours. Their longest period without sleep during their first year of residency was an average of 37.6 hours (standard deviation (SD) 9.9). · During a typical work week, they worked an average of 56.9 total hours (SD 30.19) in on-call shifts (as distinguished from the total average number of hours they worked per week). An on-call shift is a continuous shift at the hospital allowing for little to no sleep; two on-call shifts are typically scheduled per week. · 25% reported being on-call in the hospital a total of over 80 hours per week. Surgeons reported the highest average hours of on-call time per week (72.5). · On a scale of 0 (never) to 4 (almost daily), residents most frequently gave a response of 3 for the amount of sleep deprivation experienced during the first year. Over 10% of residents indicated sleep deprivation was an “almost daily” occurrence.
   

• Just 5.1 percent of doctors account for 54.2 percent of the malpractice payouts, according to data from the National Practitioner Data Bank. Of the 35,000 doctors who have had two or more malpractice payouts since 1990, only 7.6 percent of them have been disciplined. And only 13 percent of doctors with five medical malpractice payouts have been disciplined.
   

• Between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in hospitals annually each year due to preventable medical errors, the Institute of Medicine found. A survey of doctors and other adults released in December in the New England Journal of Medicine found that more than a third of the doctors said they or their family members had experienced medical errors, most leading to serious health consequences. The cost to society in terms of disability and health care costs, lost income, lost household production and the personal costs of care are estimated to be between $17 billion and $29 billion. In contrast, the medical liability system costs $6.7 billion annually, about what is spent on dog food each year.
   

• There is no growth in the number of new medical malpractice claims. According to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners, the number of new medical malpractice claims declined by about four percent between 1995 and 2000. There were 90,212 claims filed in 1995; 84,741 in 1996; 85,613 in 1997; 86,211 in 1998; 89,311 in 1999; and 86,480 in 2000. While medical costs have increased by 113 percent since 1987, the amount spent on medical malpractice insurance has increased by just 52 percent over that time. Insurance companies are raising rates because of poor returns on their investments, not because of increased litigation or jury awards, according to J. Robert Hunter, director of insurance for the Consumer Federation of America. Recent premiums were artificially low. Malpractice insurance costs amount to only 3.2 percent of the average physician’s revenues. Few medical errors ever result in legal claims. Only one malpractice claim is made for every 7.6 hospital injuries, according to a Harvard study. Further, plaintiffs drop 10 times more claims than they pursue, according to Physician Insurer Association of America data.
   

 

 

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Injuries suffered as a result of medical malpractice are frequently severe and life altering. Our law firm understands and if you're seeking an attorney in Miami , Florida to  help you - Then please, get your malpractice questions answered today.