New information from a medical study shows that kids with chronic health conditions are more likely to suffer from serious hospital and medical errors. Statistics show that about three percent of our country’s kids who are hospitalized are affected by medical mistakes. When children are very ill, they could be more vulnerable to suffering serious injuries and complications from these preventable hospital errors.
The study is very concerning because data suggests that the children who cannot afford to be injured or suffer additional health problems are generally the ones who are harmed by medical mistakes. This study should certainly make Chicago parents more aware of the fact that many children are harmed by negligent doctors. When parents understand that medical malpractice does happen, they can take a more active role to help prevent some mistakes by questioning doctors’ treatments and care methods.
Medical errors can include complications that are specific to certain procedures such as surgery or therapy. Children may also suffer from adverse reactions to a medicine, or a medical professional may administer the wrong dose of a medication. Infections and even bedsores are also ailments that plague children who spend more time in hospitals.
In addition, researchers found that the medical error risk rises with the number of conditions a child has. Children with two chronic medical conditions experience more than twice the risk of a medical error when compared to those with only one medical condition.
Although government officials say the rate of medical errors is still relatively low among children, any medical mistake is inexcusable. Patient safety has become an increasing concern throughout the nation. Medical errors kill almost 100,000 patients every year in the U.S., according to a report from the Institute of Medicine.
Source: Reuters, “More hospital errors when kids have chronic ills,” Amy Norton, September 11, 2012
- Our firm represents patients and their families who have been harmed by hospital negligence matters, including medication errors and infections. To learn more about our firm and practice, please visit our Chicago hospital negligence page.
