Linda McDougal had both her
breasts removed by mistake.

After undergoing a double mastectomy at a St. Paul hospital, Linda McDougal was told that a pathologist mixed up her tissue sample with that of another woman and she didn’t actually have cancer. Three-year-old Matthew Kuttner died on the operating table during a routine tonsillectomy at another Minnesota hospital after tissue lodged in his throat and a nurse anesthetist pulled out his breathing tube.

Rare cases? Exceptions to the rule? Hardly. According to a bellwether report from the Institute of Medicine issued in 1999 called To Err is Human, “at least 44,000 people, and perhaps as many as 98,000 people, die in hospitals each year as a result of medical errors that could have been prevented.” The cost to society is staggering: estimated then to be between $17 billion and $29 billion per year, not to mention the incalculable pain and suffering.

Regrettably, 10 years after the Institute issued its wakeup call there has been limited progress in slowing the rate of medical mistakes. In fact the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality reported to Congress in 2008 that these preventable injuries are actually growing by 1 percent annually. And Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, recently stated that the death toll today stands at 100,000 annually.

S-P-E-A-K U-P: Tips You Should Know for Better
Healthcare Outcomes

So what can you do to prevent a medical mistake if you or someone dear to you must undergo a medical procedure? The Joint Commission on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations says do your homework, be nosy, ask tons of questions, and generally be a squeaky wheel:

Speak up, ask questions, and ask again if you don’t understand. Know what to expect before and after a procedure, and if something changes, ask why.

Pay attention and get the right treatments and medications by the right people; don’t assume anything.

Educate yourself about your medical history: diagnosis, medical tests and treatment plan.

Ask an assertive, informed family member to be there as your advocate and ask tough questions if you can’t.

Know what medications you take and why. Bring a list including supplements and allergies.

Use a hospital or other healthcare organization that has undergone rigorous on-site evaluation. Visit Medicare's Hospital Compare, The Joint Commission's Quality Check and Leapfrog Group.

Participate aggressively in your treatment. Ask doctors and nurses to wash their hands before touching you; check ID bracelets before treatments and medication; and label a procedure site with permanent marker.

Complete copies of Speak Up materials available here.

Medical Error Red Flags

Medical errors occur when a planned action does not go as intended or the wrong plan was used in the first place. Medical mistakes can happen anywhere in the system, from hospitals and clinics to nursing homes and pharmacies. When reviewing potential malpractice, attorneys look for these red flags:

Diagnostic & Treatment

• Error or delay in diagnosis
• Failure to employ indicated results
• Use of outmoded tests or therapy
• Failure to act on results of monitoring or testing
• Error in the performance of an operation, procedure or test
• Error in administering the treatment
• Error in the dose or method of using a drug
• Avoidable delay in treatment, or in responding to an abnormal test

Preventive & Other

• Failure to prevent or respond to infection
• Inadequate monitoring or follow-up treatment
• Failure of communication
• Equipment failure
  

Bad Outcomes Aren’t Always A Medical Mistake
A bad outcome doesn’t automatically mean there was a medical mistake. In fact very few cases cross the high threshold required for legal action. Our recommendation: contact us immediately if you, or someone you know, has experienced a medical error.