Don’t Become the Victim of Hospital Errors

It is astonishing how rampant hospital errors are across the United States. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has estimated that close to 2 million people will suffer from hospital infections in 2010. Even worse, the CDC has anticipated nearly 100,000 deaths from these hospital-acquired infections.

We recently wrote an article entitled, How Safe Do You Feel at the Hospital? In this article, we revealed the startling findings of a recent study into hospital errors. According to researchers, one in five patients are injured in the hospital. That means your odds of being hurt during a hospital stay are pretty high.

Protect Yourself
While it might be difficult to prevent every type of medical error, there are some actions you can take to protect yourself.

1. Remind the doctors and nurses to sanitize their hands. Don’t worry about sounding rude, as your health is way more important than appearing abrasive. Numerous studies have indicated that hand hygiene is poor in hospitals. Shockingly, proper hand sanitization only occurs about 20 to 30 percent of the time.
2. Make sure your hospital room is disinfected. Pay careful attention to commonly touched objects in the hospital room, such as the telephone, call buttons, remote controls and blood pressure cuffs. Do these items appear to be disinfected regularly? If not, speak up.
3. Question the urinary catheter. Many patients will need a urinary catheter at some point during the hospital stay. If you need one, make sure you ask the nurse how long it will be used. It has been estimated that urinary catheters are responsible for 40 percent of hospital infections. Therefore, you have the right to know why you need it and the length of time it will be utilized.
4. Make sure you understand the doctor’s orders. You (or your family member) should be an active participant in your medical care. That means you should be aware of the treatment and medications prescribed by the doctor. Mistakes happen, including prescription errors. It is imperative that you know what is happening.

Know Your Rights
If you have been injured at a Pennsylvania hospital or one in New Jersey, you may be able to hold the medical provider liable for your injuries. To find out your rights, contact an experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney at the law firm of Cooper & Schaffer at 888-545-4755. We have offices conveniently located in Philadelphia, PA, Jenkintown, PA, and Cherry Hill, NJ.

Be sure to order a FREE copy of one of our books, Seven Ways to Destroy Your Pennsylvania Personal Injury Case or Seven Ways to Destroy Your New Jersey Personal Injury Case. The insurance company doesn’t want you to read either of these books!