Minorities and the Uninsured at Greatest Risk of Suffering Malpractice

Consumers of health care in the United States run a significant risk of being injured or killed by medical malpractice. More than a dozen years ago the Institute of Medicine reported that as many as 98,000 people die each year as a result of medical errors. Linda T. Kohn, Janet M. Corrigan and Molly S. Donaldson, eds., 2000, To Err Is Human: Building a Safer Health System. Washington, DC, National Academy Press. A far greater number, estimated at about one million per year, is injured each year by medical errors. Id. More recent data shows that little, if any, progress has been made in improving patient safety. Medical mistakes are still the sixth leading cause of death in this country. See Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm. But these numbers tell only part of the story, because when it comes to quality of medical care in the United States, all patients are not treated equally. Minorities, poor people and those without private insurance are more likely to receive substandard care and to suffer the consequences.