Accidental deaths remain a problem for the medical industry

Hearst Newspapers reveals widespread failure ten years after a federal report implored the medical industry to cut in half the annual death toll from medical errors and hospital-caused infections, estimated at 200,000. Among the failures: the federal government doesn’t even tally the nation’s leading category of accidental deaths. Some states tried but most failed. Hospital discharge data, court records, medical disciplinary documents and hundreds of interviews reveal chaos and continued tragedy. Lead reporters Cathleen Crowley and Eric Nalder, editors Phil Bronstein, David McCumber and Bob Port were joined by 30 others from Hearst Newspapers, Hearst Television and Columbia University for this investigation.