Polio is a viral disease that affects the nervous system, causing paralysis. It spreads through direct contact with people who have the infection. The first major polio epidemic in the United States occurred in 1916 and reached its peak in 1952. Of the 57,628 reported cases, there were 3,145 deaths.
It is difficult to accurately estimate how often medical malpractice occurs because it often goes unnoticed or unreported. According to an article from the Journal of the American Medical Association, as many as 225,000 people die each year from medical malpractice. These incidents may be split into several subcategories:
In 1999, an Institute of Medicine report calling preventable medical errors an âepidemicâ shocked the medical establishment and led to significant debate about what could be done. The IOM, based on one study, estimated deaths because of medical errors as high as 98,000 a year. Makaryâs research involves a more comprehensive analysis of four large studies, including ones by the Health and Human Services Departmentâs Office of the Inspector General and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality that took place between 2000 to 2008.