We think of hospitals as a safe place, where trained medical professionals can offer assistance and care that you would get nowhere else. And, while they are intended to be that way, the truth is often quite the opposite. It has even led some people to say that a hospital is one of the “most dangerous places in the world.”
The man who made that claim, a professor, did so after taking his father to the hospital and witnessing numerous errors, all of which could have caused serious injuries or even been fatal. The main mistake that the man reported was as follows: Medication for a different patient was sent to his father’s room, and the nurse nearly gave it to his father, but the professor stopped her before she did.
After he stopped the nurse by telling her to check the order a second time, the nurse allegedly told him that these types of mistakes happened constantly. She meant it to be comforting, saying, “Don’t worry, this is common.” However, her statement had the opposite impact. If it happened all the time, was anyone safe? And why weren’t they working harder to keep it from happening, if they knew just how common it was?
That experience underlined just one of the many risks that people face in the hospital. Medical professionals often know that these mistakes happen, and they’ve been called an “open secret”, but patients often do not realize the hazards that they’re likely to encounter. They think they’re safe.
If you suffer serious injuries or lose a loved one because of a doctor’s error or a common mistake, you need to look into all of your legal options for recovery.