Clinical negligence around the globe: the statistical picture

clinical negligence around the worldThe article touching a vital topic of the scope of clinical negligence cases around the globe is created in collaboration with solicitors.guru, one of the largest legal databases in the UK allowing you to find a solicitor effortlessly. Our choice to collaborate with the team was not accidental – the company focuses on medical negligence area and runs the most comprehensive collection of medical negligence solicitors (1750+ profiles). So here’s what we’ve managed to dig out.

The state of affairs in Canada

In Canada, according to figures presented in Canadian Dimension Magazine, as a result of negligence in medical staff 40,000+ Canadians are killed annually, although reportedly the trend is slowly, but gradually declining.

Clinical negligence numbers in the UK

In the UK in the period from 2010 to 2011 the number of lawsuits filed in connection with the commission of negligence in medical organisations against the UK National Health Service has increased by 55% against the background of 2005 – 2006 period. In 2010 – 2011, payments for such actions or complaints by the UK National Health Service amounted to £729 million. Most claims for this reason have been filed in three areas of medicine: surgery (total claims amounted to 25,867, or 39% of the total), obstetrics and gynecology (the total number of claims was 12,045, or 20% of the total) and general therapy (total of claims 13 was 095 or 18% of the total).

How is it going in EU?

clinical negligenceThe European Union is a huge region to consider, but we’ve found some comprehensive studies though. In conducting the survey among patients who are nationals of Member States of the European Union on the sort of adverse events might happen to them while in the medical organisation, 49% of respondents said medical errors associated with taking drugs, 46% reported surgical medical errors and 39% inclined to the fact that during the time spent in a medical institution medical errors associated with the use of medical equipment were committed in respect of them.

The stats in Russia

The situation in Russia as a whole can be characterised as the apparent lack of appropriate and effective legal mechanisms for the protection of patients’ rights to quality health care, including the right for protection against defect care. General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation systematically records the fact of improper performance of medical personnel of their duties that resulted in serious bodily injury and death of adults and children. From 2010 to 2011, only 35 regions initiated 133 criminal cases on the facts of causing death by negligence due to improper execution of his or her professional duties (Article 109 of the Criminal Code), and negligence (Article 293 of the Criminal Code). However, this is, figuratively speaking, only the ‘tip of the iceberg’. There’s no objective data on medical errors in Russia existing in some form. The published figures are so different from report to report that operating them is a statistically wrong decision. Clearly, the number of cases of medical errors, and defects in general medical care in Russia is too large to ignore the problem.

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