Most of these statistics can be found on-line.  The bulk of this article was derived from a very well-written blog that succinctly states the case of the medical community needs to do a much better job at policing itself to stop medical malpractice from occurring int he first place.  Medical malpractice claims are not the problem - medical malpractice is the problem.  Stop committing medical malpractice and the medical malpractice lawsuits will vanish.

1. Fewer than one-half of 1% of the nation’s doctors face any serious state sanctions each year.
2. Harvard researchers found that 1% of a representative sample of patients treated in New York state hospitals in 1984 were injured, and one-quarter of those died, because of medical negligence.
3. A similar study conducted in California in 1974 found that 0.8% of hospital patients had either been injured by negligence in the hospital or had been hospitalized because of negligent care.
4. In 1976 the HEW Malpractice Commission estimated similarly that one-half of 1% of all patients entering hospitals are injured there due to negligence.
5. It is not unreasonable to estimate that at least 1 percent of doctors in this country deserve some serious disciplinary action each year. Unfortunately far exceeds the actual number of physicians disciplined.
6. 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.
7. 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).
8. Residents work excessive hours! Their longest period without sleep during their first year of residency was an average of 37.6 hours.
9. During a typical work week residents worked an average of 56.9 total hours as 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.
10. Just 5.1 percent of doctors account for 54.2 percent of the malpractice payouts, according to data from the National Practitioner Data Bank.
11. Of the 35,000 doctors who have had two or more malpractice payouts since 1990, only 7.6 percent of them have been disciplined.
12. Only 13 percent of doctors with five medical malpractice payouts have been disciplined.
13. Between 44,000 and 98,000 people die in hospitals annually each year due to preventable medical errors, the Institute of Medicine found.
14. 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.
15. 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.
16. Malpractice insurance costs amount to only 3.2 percent of the average physician’s revenues.
17. 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.

We represent people and their families that are harmed as a result of medical malpractice across Utah including the counties and cities of Beaver, Box Elder, Cache, Carbon, Daggett, Davis, Duchesne, Emery, Garfield, Grand, Iron, Juab, Kane, Millard, Morgan, Piute, Rich, Salt Lake, San Juan, Sanpete, Sevier, Summit, Tooele, Uintah, Utah, Wasatch, Washington, Wayne, Weber, American Fork, Beaver, Bountiful, Brigham City, Cedar City, Delta, Draper, Duchesne, Fillmore, Heber, Kamas, Kanab, Kaysville, Layton, Lehi, Logan, Moab, Murray, Nephi, Ogden, Orem, Park City, Price, Provo, Richfield, Riverton, Roy, Salt Lake City, Sandy, South Jordan, St. George, Tooele, Vernal, West Jordan, and West Valley City.

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