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:
Experts estimate that as many as 98,000 people die in any given year from medical errors that occur in hospitals. A significant number of those deaths is due to medication errors. That is more than die from motor vehicle accidents, breast cancer, or AIDSâ three causes that receive far more public attention. Indeed, more people die annually from medication errors than from workplace injuries.