The patient is now paralyzed because of adverse events that occurred while undergoing a minor back procedure. Because health care professionals are human, there is potential for medical errors. Therefore, it is imperative for patients to protect themselves and be active participants in their treatment process. The following provides additional information on medical errors as well as links to related sites. In basic terms, a medical error is an adverse event caused by medical management and resulting in measurable disability.
Errors can include problems in practice, products, procedures, and systems.
But not all bad outcomes for patients are due to medical errors. Patients may not be cured of their disease or disability despite the fact that they are provided the very best of care. Also, adverse events that arise from medical care are not necessarily errors. Medical errors are one of the nation's leading causes of death and injury. Evidence regarding the existence and amount of medical errors has been around since the early 1990s.