March 3 Marks Start of Patient Safety Awareness Week
Yesterday marked the beginning of Patient Safety Awareness Week, organized by the National Patient Safety Foundation (NPSF). As a Tarrant County personal injury attorney, I have been involved in my share of medical malpractice cases, so it is encouraging to know there are health professionals out there committed to reducing the risks of costly healthcare errors and improving the safety of individuals who after all only go to the hospital in order to get better – whether by surgery or other form of treatment.
Patient safety affects all of us because some point in our lives every one of us will be a patient - whether because we’ve been in an auto accident or succumbed to a disease, for example - or maybe because of a happier reason like having a baby. Although we are fortunate here in the Dallas-Fort Worth region to have some of the best hospitals in the country, accidents do still happen. In fact, the NPSF says that 85% of Americans know someone who has been a victim of medical error – a statistic which has remained unchanged for years. Clearly that number is far too high. As patients, we literally put our lives in the hands of trained medical professionals, doctors, nurses, pharmacists and paramedics whose job it is to help us. Medical errors are inexcusable. Patients deserve to expect to receive their treatments in the safest environment possible.
Mark Anderson is a PI and wrongful death lawyer with 20 years of experience serving injury victims in Denton, Parker and Wise Counties. For a no fee, no obligation consultation call 817-294-1900 to discuss your situation and find out whether you are eligible to make a claim for compensation.
