Over one-third of Michigan hospitals given “A” safety rating

The Leapfrog Group, an organization dedicated to health care safety, recently released safety ratings for hospitals nationwide. The survey, which gives hospitals a rating from A to F, found that 35 percent of the hospitals in Michigan—28 out of a total of 80—were given A ratings, Nationwide, nearly one-third of hospitals showed an improvement of at least 10 percent in their performance since 2012.

Back to Michigan—no hospitals in the state received an F score, but experts point out that hospitals must always be on the lookout to improve their efforts with respect to medical errors. This is especially the case when one considers that over 400,000 patients die nationwide per year as a result of medical errors.

Medical errors cannot be completely eradicated, of course, as long as humans are in charge of health care services. What hospitals and providers can do is to continually be vigilant to areas of risk and work to improve care. In cases where providers fall short of a recognized duty and this results in harm to a patient, there is the possibility of recourse for the patient in medical malpractice litigation.

Medical malpractice litigation is not easy to see through. Not only can such lawsuits be expensive, they can be time-consuming and mentally and emotionally draining. Not only that, but many injured patients are better able to obtain compensation for wrongs through settlement than litigation. Patients who have been harmed by a negligent physician should, however, at least contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney to have their case evaluated and determine their options for recovery.

Source: Crain’s Detroit Business, “Leapfrog Group safety report gives 35% of Michigan hospitals an ‘A’,” Jay Greene, April 30, 2014.