Children With Chronic Conditions Are More Commonly Affected By Medical Errors

Doctors of the Research Institute at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio have recently completed a study comparing medical errors occurring in children with chronic conditions versus medical errors occurring in children with no chronic conditions. The results show there is a statistically significant relationship between medical errors and chronic conditions.

The overall medical error rate in children, regardless of preexisting conditions, is 3 percent. When that statistic is broken down to reflect chronic conditions, however, it shows that only 1.3 percent occur in children with no chronic conditions, while a full 5.3 percent of children with chronic conditions experience some sort of medical error. Considering that 44 percent of children have at least one chronic condition, this is not an insignificant percentage of the general population.

Furthermore, the study shows that the more chronic conditions a child has, the more likely a medical error will occur. Twelve percent of the children in the study had three or more chronic conditions, representing a particularly at-risk demographic.

If your child has been injured in an accident or your family has been affected by medical errors, contact the Law Offices of David M. Benefeld to discuss your legal rights.

Source: MorgueFile