Annual Causes of Death in America
The statistics are alarming.
Preventable Medical Errors (Malpractice) 98,000*
Breast Cancer 40,320 - American Cancer Society
Prostate Cancer 32,050 - Id.
Drunk Driving 10,839 - NHTSA, August, 2010 report for year 2009
Large Truck Accidents 4,229 - NHTSA, June 2009 report for year 2008
- *The Institute of Medicine report of 1999 found up to 98,000 annual deaths from preventable medical errors. In 2004, HealthGrades placed the number at 195,000 per year. Most experts have settled on the upper number established by the IOM report.
- By contrast, the total number of deaths since year 2000 involving U.S. airline carriers is only 433 according to USA Today citing NTSB as of March, 2010.
