As we reported last week, a survey of patients who were injured by healthcare providers showed recently that most did not receive an acknowledgement from providers when it came to mistakes made.
The survey results, which were published in the Journal of Patient Safety, showed that only 9 percent of patients had instances of harm disclosed to them. In a similar report, frighteningly, a story by CBS News indicated that many doctors are still practicing medicine despite multiple medical malpractice payouts.
The news source reportedly looked into the records of 25 doctors with the most malpractice payouts in Florida. It found that just four lost their licenses—and three only lost their license after they had been arrested and charged with drug trafficking or billing fraud.
“When you look at these doctors with the largest number of malpractice suits, you have to ask the question — at what point could we have prevented the last five, or the last ten?” Dr. Sidney Wolfe of the advocacy group Public Citizen told CBS News.
Wolfe indicated that the Florida Board of Medicine was not doing its job in holding doctors accountable. Florida ranked in the bottom four of medical boards based on the number of actions taken against physicians, along with South Carolina, Minnesota and Wisconsin.
According to CBS News, Public Citizen found that from 1990 to 2009 “more than half the doctors in the U.S. who had their privileges restricted or revoked by a hospital had never even been fined by their state medical board.”
Can I File a Lawsuit If a Healthcare Provider Injures Me?
You should not have to suffer, because a medical care provider failed to act in a reasonable fashion. Medical malpractice can include instances of misdiagnosis, surgical errors, birth injuries and medication and drug errors.
You need to hold your healthcare provider liable if its negligence led to your injuries. This includes your physician, as his or her lack of care could also hurt other people. Speak to our attorneys if you are interested in filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. We will fight for you.
Did You Know? You can visit the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation’s website and use its tracking system to view doctor liability claims.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/news/despite-multiple-malpractice-payouts-doctors-often-keep-practicing/