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Medical Error is the Third Leading Cause of Death in the Country

Medical Error is the third leading cause of death in the US. BMJ 2016;353;2139. Medical error also causes other injuries besides death.
Medical error is also referred to medical negligence or medical malpractice and includes errors by all healthcare providers of any type e.g. doctors, nurses, physicians assistants, medical assistants, in all healthcare settings, e.g. offices, hospitals, surgery centers, nursing homes which produces injury of any kind.
Death certificates do not list medical error as a cause of death–the problem is much bigger then reported. And, injuries e.g. loss of limb, loss of organ function are not reported or tracked statistically at all.
Almost all medical malpractice happens ‘behind closed doors’. Patients are sick or may be under anesthesia or medicated and frequently do not know what happened. Family members are in the waiting room or not present or simply not told what happened with their loved one. What is worse is most states including Oklahoma have laws that protect physicians and hospitals from having to disclose the truth of what happened. These laws are called peer review laws. Peer review laws create a privilege, the privilege of secrecy, so physicians and hospitals do not have to disclose to the victim or their family members what happened or the outcome of an internal investigation.
Frequently, patients or family members have to file lawsuits just to be able to find out what happened or how it happened. Knowing this information and understanding what and how the medical error occurred is important to the victim(s) to aid in coping mentally and emotionally with what has occurred. The victims need to know.

Read more articles on Medical Errors:

The Health Care Industry Needs to Be More Honest about Medical Errors

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Medical Malpractice Attorney Heather Mitchell Oklahoma

Heather Mitchell Attorney

Super Lawyer Oklahoma

Heather Mitchell Law, located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, is headed by Heather J. Mitchell, who focuses her practice on handling medical malpractice claims. She caters to clients in the surrounding areas of Oklahoma City.

Ms. Mitchell was raised in Guymon, Oklahoma, and pursued her education at The University of Oklahoma, where she completed her Bachelor of Science in nursing in 1987 and obtained her registered nurse license the same year. Subsequently, she attended the Oklahoma City University School of Law and graduated with honors in 1990.

Licensed to practice in all Oklahoma federal and state courts, Ms. Mitchell holds a track record of 20 cases brought to verdict and obtaining numerous seven-figure settlements. She has been successfully advocating for clients who have suffered negligence-related injuries caused by healthcare providers for over 30 years. She has been recognized twice as the Oklahoma Association for Justice’s Lawyer of the Year and holds membership in the American Association for Justice. Furthermore, she has been peer-review rated as AV Preeminent* through Martindale-Hubbell, with an impressive overall rating of 4.9/5.

A dedicated and zealous attorney, Ms. Mitchell fearlessly takes on the healthcare industry in her pursuit of justice. Her goal is to fight for the rights of those who have suffered negligent injuries and to potentially contribute to positive systemic changes—one case at a time. She has initiated lawsuits against almost every health system in the state of Oklahoma, including Mercy, INTEGRIS Health, AllianceHealth and SSM Health. Recently, she achieved a verdict of $7.5 million against two medical providers.

*AV®, AV Preeminent®, Martindale-Hubbell Distinguished and Martindale-Hubbell Notable are certification marks used under license in accordance with the Martindale-Hubbell certification procedures, standards and policies. Martindale-Hubbell® is the facilitator of a peer-review rating process. Ratings reflect the anonymous opinions of members of the bar and the judiciary. Martindale-Hubbell® Peer Review Ratings™ fall into two categories – legal ability and general ethical standards.

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