Patients who sue a hospital for medical malpractice are not entitled to records documenting the hospital’s internal examination into what went wrong, the state Supreme Court has ruled, upholding a 2004 law intended to encourage medical professionals to learn from and prevent future mistakes.
medical malpractice
Preventable medical mistakes are the third leading cause of death in the United States, right after heart disease and cancer. Generally, doctors are very smart, dedicated to their patients, hardworking, and have a deep down commitment to helping others. However, they are human and humans make mistakes. In the field of medicine, unlike law or other professions, a simple mistake can have life-or-death consequences. During the course of a professional career in which thousands of patients are treated every year, even the best of doctors will often make mistakes that may cause patients to suffer harm. Knowing this, doctors purchase insurance to protect…