People in Minnesota trust medical professionals with their health. When they are suffering from an injury, illness or other condition, getting what they believe will be competent and accurate treatment is a priority. Unfortunately, medical errors happen and people are injured, suffer a worsened condition and lose their lives because of it.
It is important to track medical mistakes, determine how they occurred and take steps to prevent them. A worrisome trend has been found in Minnesota hospitals. If there is suspicion that a misstep has occurred, it is essential to have a full investigation from the patients’ perspective.
Minnesota hospitals spike in preventable medical errors
Researchers say Minnesota has seen a major increase in preventable medical errors over the past 10 years. Some of the issues were related to laboratory and surgical mistakes; others were connected to inadequate staffing putting patients in jeopardy of being assaulted and falling.
The numbers were calculated for the year ending in October 2023. There were more than 600 adverse events. Although this is viewed as a tiny fraction when assessed in the context of the number of patients treated and procedures done, that is little comfort to people who were harmed.
In 2023, there were 16 deaths because of these errors. They include such issues as a device malfunctioning and medication errors. More than 200 were found to have had serious injuries. Authorities who oversee tracking of these medical mishaps say the facilities need to retreat to the fundamentals to ensure patients are safe. Still, even when there are safety initiatives in place, they do not always yield the expected results of avoiding medical mistakes.
Problems came about from a lack of vigilance in verifying information before moving forward with treatment. In the past, a rise in wrong-site surgeries led to various steps such as marking the body part set to be operated on beforehand. There were 42 incidents in which patients had surgical equipment left inside their bodies after the procedure was done. In Minnesota, there were 25 medication errors. Of those, 22 people were injured and three died.
Medical malpractice incidents need to be investigated in full
These incidents are troubling considering the long-lasting damage they can do. This can occur in any hospital or medical setting and people who think they or a loved one might have been harmed need to consider the future. Major medical costs, extensive health challenges and financial ramifications can come about. Having help with investigating a medical malpractice case is key to discovering what might have gone wrong and taking the steps to hold facilities accountable.