When you or a family member in Pennsylvania becomes sick or injured, the last thing you should have to worry about is the safety of your medical care. However, in today’s society, this concern is a valid one. Many a medical error has been known to leave patients with serious injuries. In some cases, patients even die due to the negligence of the professionals that were supposed to cure or take care of them. But, just how often does this happen?

While there may be no way to know for sure exactly how many medical mistakes are made in a given period of time, it is possible to know how many suspected cases of mistakes may exist. The Pennsylvania Courts publish data that shows the number of claims for medical malpractice that are filed each year in the state. Data is available county by county and highlight the risk that exists all throughout the state.

Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties experienced far more medical malpractice claim filings each year from 2010 to 2014 than did any other county. In Allegheny County, there were 278 filings in 2014, 296 in 2013, 281 in 2012, 293 in 2011 and 326 in 2010. The numbers in Philadelphia County were even higher.

It is important also to know that many people may believe a mistake has been made but make the choice to not pursue compensation so these claim figures do not necessarily represent every incidence.

If you want to learn more about filing a claim when a medical error is suspected, please feel free to visit the professional liability page of our Pennsylvania medical malpractice website.