Personal Injury Law

Minority Trauma Victims More Likely To Die Than Whites

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

Blacks and Hispanics who receive treatment for head injuries and other trauma are more likely to die afterward than whites with similar injuries and, regardless of race, trauma victims who lacked insurance died much more than those who were insured. The study offers the latest evidence of how race and insurance status affect patient outcomes. The data showed that trauma victims who were white and had health insurance fared better than blacks, Hispanics and the uninsured, even when the severity of the injury was the same. The study showed that uninsured and minority patients might be more likely to have pre-existing medical conditions that would lower their chances of surviving a serious trauma wound. They are also more likely to be treated in under-resourced hospitals that tend to have worse patient outcomes. This racial medical malpractice needs to be examined in order ot insure everyone proper health care. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on October 21, 2008 (boomark / email).