More people die in a given year as a result of medical errors than from motor vehicle accidents.
The report estimates that at least 44,000 Americans die each year as a result of medical errors and it points out that the figure may be as high as 98,000 deaths per year from adverse medical events. The subcommittee invited ten people to testify about medical errors, including patients and their representatives, medical and nursing professionals, and government officials. The witnesses testified that there are serious problems with medical errors and called for more federal money to fix the problems. Diana Artemis of Falls Church, Virginia told the subcommittee that, following hospitalization for routine hip surgery, she ended up requiring additional surgeries due to hospital negligence and medical misdiagnosis. She was also placed in a nursing home for six weeks following one of the surgeries.