Health

What Are the Causes of Medical Malpractice?

Published

5 years ago

July 12, 2020

Did you know that medical mistakes are the third-highest cause of preventable deaths?

Physicians are responsible for the wellbeing of their patients and this involves giving them the best care possible. Unfortunately, the nature of healthcare makes the possibility of serious errors quite high.

Doctors are often overworked, which impacts their judgment and ability to function. In a constant high-pressure environment, it’s a lot for any person to manage and this results in mistakes.

While errors are understandable, negligent mistakes that cause serious injury or death are known as medical malpractice. When medical malpractice occurs, this opens up a physician to legal action should the victim or their family choose to sue.

Understanding medical malpractice begins with figuring out what causes it. We’ll look into this below to give you some insight into the problem.

Distraction

The first way a serious error can happen is through distraction.

Similar to how distraction can cause a car accident, doctors must always be focused on the patient at hand to give them the best treatment possible. Failing to do so means that they don’t have a full grasp of the situation.

In a doctor’s office, many things can result in distraction. Whether it’s a nurse popping in for an update, receiving a page, or something going on in their head, it’s easy to lose focus.

Despite this, physicians must do their best to give you their undivided attention. Much of what they have to work with is what you tell them, but also what you show them.

If a doctor is not carefully watching you, then they may lack the information needed for a proper diagnosis. Distractions make this likely, meaning that some medical malpractice cases can be linked to it.

Exhaustion

One of the leading causes of medical malpractice is exhaustion and general fatigue.

Because doctors are so overworked, they often end up pulling long shifts and this will physically tire any human being. It also affects their mental capacity, which leads to poor decision making.

Being fatigued is incredibly dangerous because it can be compared to being intoxicated. This level of mental and physical impairment is hazardous, especially when it’s affecting someone in charge of making medical decisions.

The problem here is that almost any doctor you find is likely fatigued. The number of skilled medical professionals pales in comparison to the total population and those that need assistance.

Considering this, errors caused by exhaustion are natural. That said, they are still considered medical malpractice. Doctors must manage their fatigue levels and avoid working if they cannot think straight, but it often isn’t simple to do.

Poor Mental State

A poor mental state can also lead to medical mistakes.

Exhaustion is one good example of an affected mental state. A tired doctor is likely to be grumpy, impatient, and disinterested, as is anyone who wants nothing more than to go to sleep.

Many more aspects of a doctor’s daily routine can also impact their mood and mindset. They may have personal distractions or be affected by an interaction with another patient. Being a physician is highly taxing and will surely take a toll on anyone.

This creates problems because a poor mental state affects a doctor’s ability to diagnose their patients. If they aren’t thinking clearly, they may not pursue something that should be looked into.

Alternatively, a physician may fail to listen to the patient. This can cause them to make assumptions and prescribe treatment that causes complications.

While having an affected mental state as a physician is understandable, it cannot impact how they treat their patients. When it does, it will be considered medical malpractice.

Lack of Experience

Medical malpractice can also originate from a lack of experience.

Becoming a doctor is a lengthy process entailing several years of education and hands-on experience. It is a long journey for anyone to take and many people do not finish.

Those that do become the physicians that treat you. Despite going through this process, there is simply so much information for a doctor to learn. There are thousands of different conditions and symptoms to be aware of.

It is inconceivable for any doctor to know everything. Especially if a physician is fairly new, like a resident, they won’t have enough experience to properly handle every situation.

Unfortunately, this lack of experience means that every doctor will make mistakes throughout their career as a result of their ignorance.

While a lack of knowledge is a bitter pill to swallow, a physician has the responsibility to learn as much as they can about their patient and their condition. They should consult with peers and other resources to find an appropriate treatment plan.

If an injury or death is caused by a lack of experience, it will be deemed as medical malpractice.

Inadequate Regulation

Lastly, inadequate regulations and oversight can also easily cause physicians to make mistakes.

Because many physicians are often overworked, this usually means that hospitals are understaffed. With this in mind, understaffed facilities cannot possibly have adequate oversight.

If every doctor is focused on their patients, who is overseeing them? While doctors do not need to be micromanaged, it helps to have regulations in place that prevent avoidable errors.

For example, an exhausted doctor may forget an important step in a routine procedure. If a policy was in place that each standard procedure had checklists that must be precisely followed, then a skipped step would never occur.

Many hospitals lack the resources to provide the necessary organization and regulation to ensure smooth operations. This trickles down to physicians and impairs their ability to effectively treat their patients and avoid mistakes.

While the structure of hospitals should be improved to prevent them, avoidable mistakes are medical malpractice.

Closing Thoughts

Doctors and medical professionals are some of the most important workers in the world. They keep us healthy and provide treatment when ailments and injuries occur.

These physicians are obligated to give their best effort to keep you safe. If they do not act in alignment with this, then their behavior can be determined as medical malpractice.

A few causes for medical malpractice include distraction, exhaustion, poor mental states, a lack of experience, and inadequate regulations and oversight.

Medical malpractice is shockingly easy considering the factors affecting a physician each day. With this in mind, understand that your physician is human and consider getting a second opinion for anything that doesn’t seem right.

Health

The Scientist as Storyteller: How Steven Quay Makes Complex Medicine Relatable

Published

1 month ago

July 23, 2025

Michelle Langton

Scientific discovery often struggles to reach the people it is meant to serve. The distance between research and public understanding can be vast. For most scientists, publishing in peer-reviewed journals is the endpoint. For Dr. Steven Quay, it is only the beginning. His career has been defined not just by what he has discovered, but by how he communicates it.

Scientific trust today faces growing skepticism and misinformation spreads faster than facts, Quay has embraced a rare role. He is both a scientist and a storyteller. His ability to bridge the technical and the human is what makes his voice resonate across disciplines, institutions, and communities.

Writing as a Lens into the Human Side of Science

One of the clearest examples of Quay’s narrative instinct lies in his writing. He has authored three major books, each rooted in a different part of his life and expertise. Together, they show how a medical researcher can also be an accessible public thinker.

In Stay Safe: A Physician’s Guide to Survive Coronavirus, published June 5, 2020, during the first days of the pandemic, Quay offered plainspoken, evidence-based guidance on protecting oneself and one’s family. It was not framed as a political statement or a policy directive. It was personal and grounded in the daily realities people faced. He wrote it not just as a scientist, but as someone who wanted to help others navigate a frightening time with clarity and calm.

His second book, The Origin of the Virus, tackled a more complex and controversial subject: the question of how SARS-CoV-2 emerged. Rather than speculate, Quay walked readers through the scientific evidence with the kind of transparency that is often lacking in public discourse. The tone was methodical, never alarmist. What set the book apart was its balance, engaging to a lay reader, yet rigorous enough to be taken seriously by professionals.

Then there is A Ride Through Northville, a deeply personal departure from the world of virology and oncology. Here, Quay revisits his childhood in Michigan, capturing the streets, friendships, and quiet moments that shaped him long before he entered a lab. The structure of the book mimics the experience of riding a bike through town, evoking memory not as a chronology, but as a sensory journey. For a scientist whose career has involved high-stakes research and global debates, this book offers a rare window into the reflective, grounded person behind the work.

Speaking Clearly Without Speaking Down

Quay’s communication skill is not limited to the written word. He has also become a frequent guest on health-focused podcasts and a speaker at public science forums. His TEDx talk on breast cancer prevention is one of the most viewed videos on the subject, and for good reason. He does not rely on drama or abstract theory. Instead, he explains mammographic density, hormonal risk, and clinical trial design in a way that makes the science both comprehensible and actionable.

In interviews, Quay has a habit of slowing things down. He avoids jargon unless he defines it. He is comfortable saying, “We don’t know yet,” which, in the realm of public science, is a kind of honesty that builds trust. He often discusses Atossa Therapeutics’ trials in plain terms, describing how experimental drugs like (Z)-endoxifen might help certain patients respond better to treatment. He emphasizes that these are ongoing studies, not marketing pitches, which sets him apart from many biotech executives.

Educating the Public Without Oversimplifying

One of the challenges of public-facing science is resisting the urge to oversimplify. Many well-intentioned scientists flatten complexity to fit the constraints of social media or mainstream news. Quay does not follow that path. He explains mechanisms and hypotheses with nuance, trusting that readers and listeners are capable of understanding more than they are often given credit for.

His social media presence reflects the same philosophy. He shares articles and research updates, but rarely with alarm or bravado. When he comments on current medical debates, he tends to lead with evidence rather than opinion. That steady tone has earned him a following that spans across ideological and professional divides.

During the pandemic, this approach stood out. While others chased headlines, Quay focused on distilling evolving guidance into practical advice. He acknowledged the limits of current knowledge, updated his views as new data emerged, and emphasized science as an iterative process. His voice became one that many people turned to not for certainty, but for clarity.

A Scientist’s Responsibility Beyond the Lab

Quay has often said that science does not exist in isolation. It is part of society. That belief informs why he writes, speaks, and engages in public discourse as actively as he does. He sees the scientist’s role not just as a producer of knowledge, but as a custodian of its meaning.

He has testified before the U.S. Congress and advised the State Department, not as a politician but as a physician-scientist committed to accuracy. In each case, his contribution has been grounded in data but shaped by a recognition of the human implications of policy and research.

This is especially evident in his work on breast cancer. By advocating for better screening tools and more personalized treatments, Quay speaks not only to clinicians and investors but to women facing real fears about their health. He explains the science behind mammographic density and hormonal modulation not just with charts, but with stories about what those risks mean in someone’s life.

Storytelling as a Form of Service

What makes Quay’s communication style compelling is that it never feels performative. He is not branding himself or building a media empire. He is doing what he believes scientists should do: make their work useful.

In every form of his storytelling, from the deeply personal to the technically specific, there is a throughline of responsibility. He understands that science touches people’s lives in ways that go far beyond the lab. For him, that means speaking clearly, writing honestly, and never underestimating the audience.