Preventable medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the United States, according to American Association for Justice.
Here are four findings:
1. Each year, 440,000 people die from preventable medical errors.
2. The United States spends tens of billions of dollars on preventable medical errors annually.
3. Of patients admitted to hospitals, one in three will experience a medical error.
4. A type of medical error, "sentinel event," includes wrong site, wrong surgery and wrong patient. These types of errors happen up to 40 times each week in the United States.
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