Access To Justice

At Sokolove Law we have a lot of experience with medical malpractice cases, and our staff and co-counsel firms are all too familiar with the stories of people who have been victims of medical malpractice.  Now, the stories of people who have died as a result of medical mistakes are going mainstream.

Dead By Mistake a website compiled and hosted by reporters from the Hearst family of newspapers and television stations. It tells the stories of the medical mistakes that affect hundreds of thousands of Americans each year.

The site includes links to see hospitals ranked state-by-state as well as video testimonials from victims’ families.  Most amazing, the Hearst journalists detail the lack of any national reporting structure for adverse medical events, meaning that the public has no reliable source of data about medical errors.  Click the map to find out about reporting variances by state.

Here’s the main point.  Medical error is a near epidemic.  Each year, thousands of Americans die from preventable medical errors.  Countless more survive but are permanently disabled, or have their quality of life decimated.  According to a conservative estimate by the Institute of Medicine, medical errors are the eighth leading cause of death in the U.S., and preventable medical errors cost the nation about $17 billion annually.

If you or a loved believe you have been the victim of medical error, you are not alone.  Victims of medical malpractice may be entitled to compensation for lost income, the cost of health and personal care, and other damages related to their injuries. Grieving survivors of medical malpractice victims can also pursue payment for damages in a wrongful death claim. Send us an email, or check out our website to learn about your rights.

For those of us who fight for the rights of these victims, Dead By Mistake, reminds us what we’re fighting for.