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:
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2011 said 1-in-25 hospital patients get an infection from being in the hospital; 700,000 of them get sick as a result and 75,000 die. In addition to deaths and injuries, medical errors also cost billions of dollars. One 2011 study put the figure at $17 billion a year. Counting indirect costs like lost productivity due to missed work days, medical errors may cost nearly $1 trillion each year, according to a 2012 report in the Journal of Health Care Finance.