Within recent years, the public has witnessed an array of medical malpractice statistics surface across the nation. In the not-so-distant past, the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) cited medical negligence as the third leading cause of death in the United States, and a Johns Hopkins study once claimed that more than 250,000 people die each year in the United States from medical mistakes. From coast to coast, emerging reports such as these leave a trail of concerns among patients and their families, namely the worry that one of these medical errors will one day affect them personally and hit much too close to home.

What Is Medical Negligence?

While the thought of a medical mistake in the healthcare community is a scary one, you can combat that fear by educating yourself and your loved ones. You are the best advocate for your own healthcare. Make yourself aware of the various forms of medical negligence so you can work to reduce your risks, and empower yourself by seeking out the resources and help you need in the event that you experience an incident of medical error. Here are examples of some of the most common types of malpractice we see in the medical community today:

The danger of misdiagnosis in the healthcare industry is alarming, and it is far from a new issue. Over the last few years alone, these errors, which frequently lead to medical malpractice cases, have garnered a lot of attention in the media, putting patients on red alert when it comes to the matter of their precious health. In 2015, the National Academy of Medicine announced that most people will receive an incorrect diagnosis at least once in their lives. In 2017, research showed that an estimated 100,000 Americans died or were permanently disabled due to an incorrect or delayed diagnosis.

Advocating For Your Health

While reports such as these continue to surface each year, they may lead one to ponder the degree of control a person has over their own health, especially when it feels as if you are at the mercy of the physicians you turn to for answers. Thankfully, you are not powerless when it comes to protecting yourself from misdiagnosis. Here are a few practical, effective ways you can advocate for our health: 

A jury in Vermilion County awarded over $4.8 million to the family of a Danville woman who filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against a local physician and Danville Polyclinic. The lawsuit claimed that Dr. Muthiah Thangavelu's conduct was negligent and resulted in injuries to Linda Shelly that would otherwise have been avoidable

Shelly underwent a procedure to remove a cyst in her abdomen, but during the procedure Thangavelu cut and removed a portion of Shelly's right ureter. This eventually led to permanent and severe injuries, and ultimately, the loss of Shelly's right kidney.