Number of deaths from Medical Malpractice VS. Gun deaths

After hearing numerous demands for gun control since the Newtown tragedy, I did my own research.

Some may not like what they read but try to keep an open mind.

UNITED STATES POPULATION
approx. 315,105,822

NUMBER OF GUN OWNERS IN US
approx. 80,000,000

NUMBER OF GUNS OWNED BY PEOPLE IN US
approx. 310,000,000

NUMBER OF PEOPLE KILLED BY GUNS IN A YEAR
aprox. 35 deaths a day
[12,775 per year]

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After listening to all the scare and fear mongering among the politicians about the violence from guns, I was astonished to see how low the percentage is compared to the overall population and number of guns owned by the public.

Please note that the deaths by guns include homicide, suicide and killed by police.
Also, the numbers are "approximately" not definite.

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NUMBER OF DOCTORS IN US
approx. 800,000
[include general practitioners and special doctors]

NUMBER OF DEATHS FROM MEDICAL MALPRACTICE
approx. 90,000 --reported in hospitals--
[some reports claim higher if include all medical services not provided in hospitals - Approx. 200,000]

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In fact, I looked to find the top leading causes of death in the US and by guns is way down the list.

At the top is mostly health related.
Even car accident deaths is more than the gun deaths.

So when I look at the number of guns owned and the number of deaths per year [statistics may vary] the percentage is so low that I don't see why guns are being attacked.

Many more Americans are dying each year from medical errors.

According to a national investigation conducted by Hearst newspaper and television journalists, about 200,000 people in America die each year from preventable medical mistakes and hospital infections. “Dead By Mistake” reports that 98,000 Americans die each year from preventable medical errors, and just as many die from hospital–acquired infections.

Preventable medical errors kill and seriously injure hundreds of thousands of Americans every year.
About 9 times more than by guns.




NOTE:

YES-- We need to enforce strict background checks for gun owners
YES-- There needs to be a rigorous training program for new gun owners
YES-- Parents with children need to be responsible for the guns and LOCK THEM UP
YES-- Mental evaluation tests should be taken into consideration
YES-- Keep guns away from the mentally impaired
YES-- People need to learn to be responsible when owning a gun

NO-- Do not blame guns for the killings. Only people are responsible.
NO-- Do Not take gun owners rights away

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My angst is more with the Medical Field than with guns due to the fact it has affected me more personally.
My apologies if I have offended any one, that was not my intention.

I just don't like all the hype that has been surrounded around guns like that is the main cause of deaths in our country.
It simply isn't.....
[Out of 315 million+ people, about 13,000 are killed yearly by guns.]

I wish the Medical Field malpractice could get this kind of attention and the number of medical deaths and injuries could be paraded in the MSM so the public could be aware of the truth.
I'd like to see the politicians carry on about putting a stop to it like they are with gun control.

Medical Malpractice do get this kind of attention all the time over the course of years so....

this clearly needed to be illustrated. I'd also be curious to compare gun deaths to alcohol related fatalities. how many other causes of death should we be railing against?

Originally posted by sylent6
Medical Malpractice do get this kind of attention all the time over the course of years so....

Not like gun control is getting .....

Turn on the TV and that is all you hear about.

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On a side note, my sister works in the Medical Field as a physical therapist and she says the same thing.
A lot goes on in hospitals that never gets reported to the public.
Not on the large scale that gun control is getting.

MSM only cares about ratings....and controversial topics is going to get top billing, such as gun control.

reply to post by snarky412
Thanks for telling it like it is snarky, even if some folks don't like to hear it! I've known at least a dozen or more people who have been killed by medical malpractice but only one that died by gun violence. If people stopped to "run the numbers" of people in their own lives who have died by medical mistakes as compared to gun violence- people that they have known PERSONALLY- they might start to see a different picture of the issue.

Originally posted by Urantia1111
this clearly needed to be illustrated. I'd also be curious to compare gun deaths to alcohol related fatalities. how many other causes of death should we be railing against?

ALCOHOL RELATED DEATHS

Alcohol causes nearly 4 percent of deaths worldwide, more than AIDS, tuberculosis or violence, the World Health Organization warned.

Approximately 2.5 million people die each year from alcohol related causes, the WHO said in its "Global Status Report on Alcohol and Health." "The harmful use of alcohol is especially fatal for younger age groups and alcohol is the world's leading risk factor for death among males aged 15-59," the report found.

Alcohol-Related Deaths Kill More Than AIDS, TB Or Violence, WHO Reports

Yet alcohol control policies are weak and remain a low priority for most governments despite drinking's heavy toll on society from road accidents, violence, disease, child neglect and job absenteeism.

Originally posted by littled16
reply to post by snarky412

 

Thanks for telling it like it is snarky, even if some folks don't like to hear it! I've known at least a dozen or more people who have been killed by medical malpractice but only one that died by gun violence. If people stopped to "run the numbers" of people in their own lives who have died by medical mistakes as compared to gun violence- people that they have known PERSONALLY- they might start to see a different picture of the issue.

Also, as Urantia1111 brought up, alcohol deaths are way higher too.

That also is an extremely touchy subject for me.
Alcohol causes more problems than guns can ever do.
I never smoked but I hated the way the smokers rights were taken away.
[yes, I'm aware of the health implications]
And yet, alcohol is never brought up.

But....that is a horse of a different color.

reply to post by snarky412


I'm glad I dont live in the US. You guys just dont get it.
The only reason to own a gun is to shoot a projectile out of it. If used for sport I have no problem with it.
But most people own one for self defence which is the underlining problem.
The fact that you need a gun because you fear someone may harm you or your family and you need to protect yourself.
It is part of your culture and has been for hundreds of years, since the days of defending yourselves against warlike native people it has become part of your heritage and your life.
I am pretty sure Doctors dont intentionally kill, however money is an important part of why people become doctors which is probably part of that problem, become a doctor seeking wealth and you would trouble yourself with those who cant pay.
As for Cars, any idiot can get behind the wheel of a car and in America any idiot can get behind the handle of a gun.
I am not against stringent testing of Guns and Driving and Licences issued to those who meet the requirements.
With Cars it is often the inexperienced, the elderly or drink drivers behind road deaths.
How to fix that - Mandatory testing every 10 years, 0.0 blood alcohol requirements and Advanced driving courses for young drivers also a limit for what sort of vehicles are young driver can drive.
Also why do we have vehicles that can drive at speeds that is over any speed limit other than a German Autobahn.
As for guns, stop the need for owning one and you wont have deaths in relation.

reply to post by kudegras


Did you even read the population versus deaths caused by guns????

POPULATION OF US
315 million+ people

NUMBER OF PEOPLE KILLED BY GUNS IN US
approx. 13,000


There is no need for a discussion to do away with guns.
The percentage is so small, there's no point to debate the issue....there is no issue.

Over 310 million guns owned by Americans.
And approx. 13,000 killed by guns a year by homicide, suicide or by cops.

I don't see what the big deal is about.

reply to post by snarky412


Low % of gun deaths per head of population? Why dont you tell that to the family who has lost a loved one in a shooting. They may have a different opinion.

Originally posted by kudegras
reply to post by snarky412

 

Low % of gun deaths per head of population? Why dont you tell that to the family who has lost a loved one in a shooting. They may have a different opinion.

Oh please, spare me.....guilt trips don't work.

How about the number of people who die from health issues????
Alcohol???
Car wrecks???

That is just as important and cause more deaths than guns by far.

But you don't see the government trying to ban or stop them.

And people who have phobias of guns or don't understand the need for them really need to be more opened minded and not so selfish.

People in our country have the right to either have a gun or not. It's a personal choice.

There are somethings you simply can't compare.

For example alcohol, people who die by alcohol choose to drink the alcohol them self.

Those 20 children shot dead, choose to go to school.

Medical malpractice, well, at least they are trying to safe lives, and in doing so errors will happen as we learn, if you think there is no attention to that problem, you are ignorant.

Car accidents, cars today are a big factor of getting society to run smoothly, unfortunately accidents do happen.

There is a very big difference from accidents, to a guy going on a shooting spree killing innocent children, cause his mad at society.

A quarter of the older people I knew that died did so because of either complications from medicines or improperly diagnosed ailments leading to wrong treatments. This includes missing things on X-rays and other tests. I know a few people that got shot with guns. One was in a robbery and a couple were in hunting accidents.

Do we need so many doctors? Are half the medications prescribed really necessary? I see a lot less wrong with gun ownership myself.

reply to post by Mianeye

There are somethings you simply can't compare. For example alcohol, people who die by alcohol choose to drink the alcohol them self. Those 20 children shot dead, choose to go to school.

In 2010, 10,228 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (31%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.1
Of the 1,210 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2010, 211 (17%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.

When it comes to Death, yes, we can compare.

Especially when certain groups are trying to force their agenda onto others, all for their own satisfaction of a dislike towards a specific controversial topic......GUNS.

There is a very big difference from accidents, to a guy going on a shooting spree killing innocent children, cause his mad at society.

How is that any different?
Innocent lives are lost from car wrecks. They didn't plan on dying....
Are they any less important than a shooting victim? If so, how....
Tell that to the families of lost ones killed in a car accident.
Or to families who have lost a loved one to Medical malpractice.
Or to families who have lost loved ones to Cancer, Aids, Parkinson, Alcoholism, etc.

All Deaths are equal and important.
It doesn't matter what or who caused it.

To lose a loved one hurts like hell and we have no right to diminish ones' loss over another's.
Nor do we have the right to say which one matters and which one doesn't.
They ALL matter.....

You can't compare the two...it's like oranges and apples...don't be silly.

Originally posted by HawkeyeNation
You can't compare the two...it's like oranges and apples...don't be silly.

We will just have to agree to disagree.

I've lost loved ones through all forms of Death over the years, starting since I was 14 yrs. old.
It hurts like hell and no matter how they die, it never is easy.
So if I seem hard or cold, I apologize, but over the years I've had to maintain a thick skin to hold up through the pain.

The purpose of this post was to show how fewer people are killed by way of guns compared to other means.
And for me, the Medical Field is a very important aspect to keep aware of.
And as another poster brought up, even car wrecks are waaay higher.

But regardless, the politicians are trying to use fear tactics to regulate or even ban guns altogether and that is just not right!!!

Much respect,
snarky

reply to post by snarky412

Hi snarky, I agree with you 100% I have had lots of medical problems relevant to my own self and other family members as well. I saw and heard a lot that just "blew me away"! BTW, I am a retired nurse myself.

Hubby was in hospital and I saw a nurse drop unwrapped latex gloves on the floor and pick them up and use them on a patients open wound. My hubby was in a coma for 3 months after a botched by-pass where he got a sepsis hospital infection. One nurse "estimated" his stomach tube feeding...saying to me, "Does that look about right"? Say what? He needed sustenance and the amount should have been measured properly I would think.

He had a tube going to his "mist" mask that was leaking and the nurses kept pushing a filthy waste basket under it instead of changing it out...new tubes were on his bedside table. I moved the basket away and got yelled at as one nurse said a nurse could trip on the puddle and i should leave it alone....how about the germs crawling up the tube to his trache/throat?

I had to wear starched, white uniform in my day....now they wear those colorful/printed clown suits that hide stains and get washed when? White showed dirt up and fresh uniform was needed daily. Just some of what i saw....could tell more. Is awful, all of it. Thanx for this topic thread. Blessings.

Snarky, I don't mean to hijack your thread but i feel like you have brought to light a VERY important issue. Media only seems to address medical topics when it involves what i call "free" ads for the latest poison pill being pushed...not much reporting relevant to medical screwups and such.

When I complained about all the scewups I witnessed, to the administrator, hubby was promptly shipped to a nursing home...where the care was so inept, I would spend 16 hours a day there bathing him and dressing his wounds and massaging him with creams and moving him to prevent bedsores...the "help" was hard to come by. I finally took him home where he recovered rapidly under my scrutiny and care.

I am only judging by my own experiences...I can only imagine the myriad of medical horror stories others may have endured. I had my vaso-dialator (sp), am tired....had mistake where I got powerful sedative given to me instead....had I not known what it was, I could have suffered dire consequences. You are so right....guns are the least of it when you start to research medical mistakes and such.

reply to post by shrevegal


I am so sorry for what you and your husband had to go through.

That was the whole point of this thread....

1) Deaths caused by guns are far lower than our government would have you believe
2) Deaths caused by Medical mishaps are a lot higher by about 9 times and yet get very little coverage.
3) Despite what some of the posters claim, these deaths are just as important and significant as those caused by guns.

There is an underlying agenda where the gun issue is concerned and I'm tired of the fear mongering by the officials/politicians and IMO it is disgusting how they are using the school tragedy as their platform.

Much respect~
snarky

I would just like to add that this thread has nothing to do with the tragic school shooting.
So please, do not bring up the incident when making a comment.

However, I do not like how our lawmakers along with the MSM are exploiting the horrific event in order to push their gun control agenda.

And they in turn are using guns as the new "Fear" to control the masses.
And it seems to be working......

Please, for those against guns, I respect that but try to respect those that choose the right to have them.
And no, I myself don't own one.........yet.

But we need to keep an open mind and set aside our emotions so we can figure out what our government is really up to by spewing disinformation by way of the MSM.

Guns are not as bad of a problem as TPTB would have you believe.
Don't fall for their propaganda BS.....

Respectfully~
snarky