When people in Los Angeles think of a wrongful death case, their first thought might be about a fatal car accident or other tragic fatal accident that unnecessarily takes the life of Californian prematurely. What people might not think of, however, is how often medical malpractice causes an untimely death. Although they often happen in circumstances where people are already sick or injured, incidents of fatal medical malpractice are also preventable, and the families of malpractice victims deserve to seek out compensation for their loss.
According to one report, medical error ought to be considered the third lead cause of death in the country, claiming the lives of 250,000 people. The report pointed to the fact that death due to medical malpractice has for many years not been counted as an official cause of death in generally accepted medical coding. Therefore, what might be listed as a “heart failure” could actually be a case of malpractice.
The report warned though that medical errors are not necessarily cases of medical malpractice, and, in particularly, would not be an indictment on the doctor who was treating the patient who died. Many things can cause medical mistakes including things like poor communication or a failure to implement safety controls that could serve as backstop to the inevitable mistake or oversight.
Still, while not necessarily a black mark on a doctor’s character, a miscommunication or understandable oversight on the part of medical staff is certainly not the fault of the family who grieves the loss of their loved one who was supposedly getting treatment in order to get better. These families deserve to get compensation for such mistakes,. A wrongful death suit in this case is the proper vehicle to get compensation for items like funeral expenses, unpaid medical bills and lost income.
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