New York City has the largest municipal health care system in the United States. There are 11 public hospitals in New York City, which are run by the City Health and Hospitals Corporation. Because of its sheer size, it’s important for the city and for patients to know these hospitals’ medical malpractice statistics.
Information has recently come out from the New York City Comptroller’s Office that shows the number of medical malpractice lawsuits that were filed against these city-owned hospitals has increased in fiscal year 2015. That year saw 521 lawsuits as opposed to 495 in fiscal year 2013.
Although the news isn’t very positive, the trend is still moving downward since 2015 saw fewer cases than 2013. Not only that, but it’s important to point out that while some of the individual hospitals saw an increase in cases, others saw a decrease for fiscal year 2015.
We can also look beyond these numbers at the actual payout amounts in the state and nationally. Medical malpractice payouts did not increase nationally from 2003 until 2013. In 2013, payouts jumped by 4.7 percent and then again by 4.4 percent in 2014. Data compiled by a medical liability insurance and consulting company showed that the state of New York paid out the most money per capita on medical malpractice claims, with New Jersey and Pennsylvania trailing behind.
Watching these trends is very important when it comes to understanding whether our medical facilities are properly serving their patients. When medical malpractice cases increase, these facilities hopefully take action to keep their patients safe.
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