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Jacob Blackman
Professor Malcolm Campbell
English 1103
30 September 2016
The Prevalence of Medical Malpractice and its Effect on Modern Healthcare
Introduction/Overview
Every year, millions of people throughout the United States enter hospitals seeking
treatment for a variety of diseases and illnesses. In a culture where medicine is valued, it is
important to examine the extent to which hospitals are actually treating their patients. Within
hospitals, there is increasing evidence of negligence by physicians, which negatively impacts
patients. In fact, according to Amy Nutt, author of Negative Effects of Medical Malpractice,
every year, medical malpractice is a serious problem for thousands of people across the
country. With malpractice being a pertinent issue, it is important to note who is truly affected.
Based on an article published by Juris Doctor Candidate Johnathan Thomas, who
attended Loyola University Chicago School of Law, medical malpractice can take place in any
and every healthcare facility by any type of medical personnel, including internists, surgeons,
nurses, and support staff. This evidence is beginning to suggest that instances of medical
malpractice are occurring within American hospitals more than the general public realizes.
According to the Civil Justice Resource Group - which is composed of experts who deal with
issues related to the U.S. civil justice system there are between 65,000 and 200,000 annual
deaths resulting from medical accidents. For comparison, the annual total of all other causes of

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accidental death is 98,000, of which 46,000 are from auto crashes and 11,000 are from
workplace accidents. The group further suggests that the ratio of injuries and deaths [caused]
by malpractice in hospitals to that reflected in medical records is approximately four to one. In
essence, this ratio suggests that errors made by physicians, which result from medical
malpractice, are often undocumented and that the number of patients who are afflicted by
negligence is likely four times higher than the general public currently realizes. Further,
according to the Journal of the American Association for Justice, the number of deaths resulting
from preventable medical errors [cost] the nation an estimated 29 billion dollars. Through these
statistics, medical malpractice can be viewed as an issue which has the potential to impact
anyone who seeks treatment in modern hospitals.
In order to begin addressing and resolving the issue, one must gain a better understanding
of medical malpractice in its entirety. To simplify this, one must view the definition of the term.
Provided by David Goguen, who is employed at the University of San Francisco School of Law,
medical malpractice occurs when the provision of care which includes decisions, treatment,
and the failure to treat falls below the accepted medical standard of care. While providing
more clarity, this definition also addresses the fact that malpractice can occur any time during a
patients stay at the hospital.
Upon gaining more clarity on the meaning of malpractice, one should note a few of the
significant consequences it produces. To begin, it is important to first look into how patients are
impacted by malpractice. As mentioned in Amy Nutts Negative Effects of Medical Malpractice,
results such as loss of work, permanent disability, loss of quality of life, and loss of future
wages are a few examples of the possible negative impacts that malpractice can pose to its

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victims. In addition, patients may become more susceptible to infections as a result of negligence
while staying in hospitals.
Many contend that medical malpractice is nearly impossible to eradicate as human error
is inevitable. Although humans are prone to making mistakes, more can be done to address
certain miscues that should never occur in the first place. With this being said, in this essay I will
be examining the prevalence of medical malpractice within American hospitals, and its effects on
patients and healthcare employees. In addition to spreading more light on the problem, I will also
examine what is currently being done to potentially solve the issue.
In order to gain a better understanding of my topic, I initiated my research with searches
on Google. Initially, my searches were too broad and did not yield enough concrete evidence to
help me develop my inquiry question. Instead of choosing to discuss some of the positive and
negative things that are occurring within hospitals, I decided to focus more specifically on the
issue of malpractice. After narrowing down my focus, I discovered a few sources that may be
very useful for me in creating my composition. I discovered a potential book source entitled
Nursing Negligence: Analyzing Malpractice in the Hospital Setting. This resource could prove
very useful as it will discuss the effects of malpractice from the perspective of nurses who have
experience working within hospitals.
I also found an article entitled Medical Errors in Hospitals: Doing the Right Thing When
Things Go Wrong, published by ScienceDaily, which is a helpful source in discovering the
latest scientific research news. In addition, I discovered a few interesting news articles pertaining
to malpractice published by the U.S. News & World Report and the British Broadcasting
Corporation. In an effort to continue to develop my understanding of the problem, I also used the
J. Murrey Atkins librarys databases to search for a few academic journals. Upon choosing which

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topic I truly wanted to use for my composition, I also talked to one of my peers, Josh, and used
his guidance to help me narrow down my focus. After spending a few minutes discussing the
different routes I could take while writing the composition, Josh helped me see that I was more
passionate about the issue of malpractice than the rest of my proposed topics.
The topic of medical malpractice is quite complex for a few significant reasons. For
starters, no one can contradict the fact that physicians are human and thus make mistakes
periodically. This creates an issue, however, as physicians cannot afford to make mistakes that
jeopardize the lives of their patients. The complexity arises because doctors are being sued
outrageously for their mistakes while patients are also being harmed by negligence. Although
some see the need to increase lawsuits against doctors in order to ensure they work to the best
of their ability - others view this as harmful since it increases the pressure on doctors which may
actually increase their odds of making more mistakes in the future.
I found additional content on the impacts of medical malpractice from research conducted
by the members of the Journal of the American Medical Association. According to this group,
medical negligence is the third leading cause of death in the U.S. right behind heart disease
and cancer. With increased efforts placed on bringing about heart disease and cancer awareness,
it is important to begin addressing malpractice. Certain law firms are also discussing the issue of
malpractice as more and more doctors seek help in response to having lawsuits filed against
them. In fact, there is an abundance of information pertaining to the costs doctors face when
dealing with lawsuits, and how this affects modern healthcare.
Initial Inquiry Question

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How and to what extent does medical malpractice affect modern healthcare, and what
efforts are being conducted to address the issue?
My Interest in this Topic
I have selected this topic as the basis for my research this semester because my current
ambition is to become a health care practitioner. This is my current desire because I seek to
establish myself in a career where I can develop meaningful relationships with my patients, and
make a positive impact on their lives. The issue of malpractice is significant to me because I
want to be more informed on how I can address it so that I can limit my own mistakes and ensure
the safety of those who would be entrusting me to care for them.
I also have a very personal connection with this topic dealing with the death of my
grandfather a few years ago. After overcoming his bout with prostate cancer, my grandfather
perished from an undetected blood clot that completely blocked the circulation of his blood.
After his tragic death, my family had the opportunity to sue the doctors for failing to administer
blood thinners to my grandfather who had very viscous blood. While we were enveloped in
grief and certainly frustrated with how he had died, we decided not to file a lawsuit because we
would simply be attempting to fill the void with money which usually provides no closure or
contentment. In my grandfathers case, negligence did prove to be one of the factors in his death.
Although doctors could not help the fact that his blood was very thick, through improved
communication and proactive measures, there is a high likelihood that my grandfather could
have still been alive today.
Currently, I know the definition of malpractice and a few of the ways in which doctors
fail to diagnose patients properly. I also am beginning to understand that doctors are under

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increased pressure to perform perfectly, which may be significantly influencing their rates of
making mistakes. I have also heard many stories from peers similar to mine where doctors failed
to diagnose a patient correctly, or even treated patients incorrectly. Some of the consequences of
these actions were minor, while others were more drastic and life-threatening. I also hope to
learn many things through the research that I will conduct throughout the duration of this project.
In essence, I aim to discover the extent to which mistakes by physicians are occurring, and how
impactful these mistakes are on the well-being of patients. I also hope to examine what doctors
are doing to address the problem. In addition, I may discuss whether or not medical malpractice
plays a role in the increasing rates of infection found evident in patients who attend hospitals. In
the end, I hope to better understand this issue from the viewpoint of both physicians and patients,
so that I may be proactive and conscientious upon beginning my career in the medical field.
Next Steps
In addition to the sources I have already used to begin researching my topic, I will be
visiting reputable journalistic sources like the U.S. News & World Report and The New York
Times, among others. In addition, I will continue utilizing the J. Murrey Atkins librarys database
to find reliable scholarly articles pertaining to the issues that arise from malpractice. I will also
be visiting the Pew Research Centers website in order to see if there are any statistics that might
shed light on the occurrence of malpractice in American hospitals. Further, in an effort to see the
issue of malpractice from the viewpoints of both doctors and patients, I plan to explore websites
and blogs created by members of each group. For example, Kevin Pho, who is an internal
medicine physician and serves on the Board of Contributors at USA Today, created a blog post
entitled How Malpractice Hurts Doctors and their Future Patients. Lastly, in an effort to
become an improved researcher which will serve me well in the coming years I plan to seek

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help from the reference librarians here on campus in order to narrow down my search for the
most effective sources and bolster the quality of my final composition.