Medical Malpractice Statistics

• Only 1% of medical malpractice victims sue for compensation¹
• 99% of malpractice victims never receive compensation because they never start a suit!²
• In Canada:³
• 24,000 patients die due to ‘Adverse Events’ each year
• 87,500 patients admitted to Canadian acute care hospitals each year suffer an ‘Adverse Event’ (7.5% of all patients)
• 1 in 13 patients admitted to hospital suffers an adverse event
• 1 in 19 patients experience medication errors, representing 24% of all ‘Adverse Events’
• 37% of ‘Adverse Events’ are ‘highly’ preventable
• In the USA:
• Medical errors have estimated errors may account for as many as 251,000 deaths annually in the United States.⁴
• 12,000 people die each year from unnecessary surgery.⁵
• The side effects of medication kill 106,000 people annually.⁶
• Medical errors kill between 44000 to 98000 Americans each year.⁷
• In the UK the Medical Negligence statistics are similar to those in Canada
• In Australia Medical Negligence causes:
• 18,000 patient deaths in hospitals each year⁸
• 50,000 people suffer permanent injury annually⁸
• Medicine-related problems cause approximately 250,000 hospital admissions each year.⁹
• 17% of hospital admissions resulted in an ‘Adverse Event’.¹⁰
• In New Zealand 13% of hospital admissions result in an ‘Adverse Event’¹¹

None of these figures include patients treated negligently in their own doctors’ offices. Are you wondering if medical malpractice actually occurred and considering your options? If so, Malpractice Check is designed for you!

¹Lee SK, Rowe BH, Flood CM, Mahl SK. (2021). “Canada’s System of Liability Coverage in the Event of Medical Harm: Is It Time for No-Fault Reform?” Healthc Policy. 17(1):30–41. DOI:10.12927/hcpol.2021.26580.

²Canadian Medical Protective Association (CMPA) and Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI), 2023-2024 Data Analysis.

³Baker, G.R., et al. (2004). “The Canadian Adverse Events Study.” CMAJ. 170(11):1678-1686. DOI:10.1503/cmaj.1040498.

⁴Anderson, J. G., & Abrahamson, K. (2017). Your Health Care May Kill You: Medical Errors. Studies in health technology and informatics, 234, 13–17.

⁵Virtual Mentor. 2002;4(6):178-179. doi: 10.1001/virtualmentor.2002.4.6.dykn1-0206.

⁶Lazarou J, Pomeranz BH, Corey PN. Incidence of Adverse Drug Reactions in Hospitalized Patients: A Meta-analysis of Prospective Studies. JAMA. 1998;279(15):1200–1205. doi:10.1001/jama.279.15.1200

⁷Charatan F. Medical errors kill almost 100000 Americans a year. BMJ. 1999 Dec 11;319(7224):1519. doi: 10.1136/bmj.319.7224.1519. PMID: 10591699; PMCID: PMC1117251.

⁸[Sheikhtaheri A, Sadeqi-Jabali M, Hashemi-Dehaghi Z. Physicians’ Perspectives on Causes of Health Care Errors and Preventive Strategies: A Study in a Developing Country. Iran J Public Health. 2018 May;47(5):720-728. PMID: 29922615; PMCID: PMC6005985

⁹Pharmaceutical Societyof Australia 2019. Medicine Safety: Take Care. Canberra: PSA.

¹⁰Wilson, R. M., Runciman, W. B., Gibberd, R. W., Harrison, B. T., Newby, L., & Hamilton, J. D. (1995). The Quality in Australian Health Care Study. The Medical journal of Australia, 163(9), 458–471.

¹¹Davis, P., Lay-Yee, R., Briant, R., Ali, W., Scott, A., & Schug, S. (2002). Adverse events in New Zealand public hospitals I: occurrence and impact. The New Zealand medical journal, 115(1167), U271.