According to a report by the Institute of Medicine, medical errors are responsible for at least 44,000 deaths each year in the United States and possibly as many as 98,000 each year. Medication errors alone contribute to more than 7,000 deaths annually.

Examples of medical malpractice include:

1. mismanagement of labor and delivery practices;
2. dispensing the wrong medication or the wrong dose of medicine;
3. improper reading of x-rays;
4. transfusion errors;
5. the misdiagnosis of life-threatening conditions, such as cancer or in the emergency room;
6. surgery on the wrong limb or organ;
7. accidents during surgery;
8. infections related to treatment;
9. birth trauma; preventable suicide;
10. restraint-related injuries;
11. burns, falls and pressure ulcers