South Carolina's 62 major hospitals are largely left on their own to
investigate unexpected patient deaths, even if the death could involve
errors made by doctors or nurses. In several other states, independent investigators with medical
licenses and the power to order an autopsy — such as coroners — are
called in when someone dies unexpectedly in a hospital.
However, in SC, even though they routinely investigate other violent
deaths, such as those of auto-accident victims brought to hospitals, they are not
directed by state law to automatically investigate the unexpected death
of an average patient. To make matters even worse, coroners are dependent on hospitals to notify them of unexpected patient deaths.
No precise data exist on how many patients are killed each year by medical error in SC's hospitals, but extrapolations from various national studies indicate the number may range from several hundred to more than 1,000 a year. While state medical authorities don’t dispute this estimate, the state
health department’s licensing division won’t release the yearly totals
— from all S.C. hospitals combined — of patients reported killed by
medical error.
Source: "Independent Probes by Coroners Urged" by John Monk, published in The State.
