alaming statistics

I recently mentioned gun control on another thread, so I thought I would throw this out here for everybody. (No offense, Jim)

Subject: Alarming statistics

Doctors:
(A) The number of physicians in the U.S. is 700,000.
(B) Accidental deaths caused by physicians per year are 120,000.
(C) Accidental deaths per physician is 0.171.
(Statistics courtesy of U.S. Dept of Health Human Services.)

Now think about this:

Guns:
(A) The number of gun owners in the U.S. is 80,000,000. Yes, that is 80
million.
(B) The number of accidental gun deaths per year, all age groups, is
1,500.
(C) The number of accidental deaths per gun owner is 0.0000187.

Statistically, doctors are 9,144 times more dangerous than gun owners.

Remember, "Guns don't kill people, doctors do."

FACT: Not everyone has a gun, but almost everyone has at least one doctor.

Please alert your friends to this alarming threat. We must ban doctors
before this gets completely out of hand!!!!!

Being a gun owner myself this is not meant as a stab at you. What are the statistics of death from people being shot on purpose?

The statistics on the number of people killed with their own guns?
The number of people killed by guns, in general?
The number killed with a gun during the commision of a crime?
The number killed with a gun where alcohol/drugs are a factor?
The number killed with a gun by a member of their own family?
(note, your reply in no way compels me to search out he answer )

how about the numberof people that "be bustin caps on sum punk sucka dat be all up in my grill"

How about some statistics for:

The # of lives saved by doctors
-and-
The # of lives saved by guns



Just curious... not a stab at anyone.

Being a (retired) doctor and a (current) gun owner...those HHS statistics are extrapolated from scant data and not actual full chart review of every death. That isn't to say that doctors' actions don't sometimes result in patients dying but there is a difference and that is intent. Most (not all) bad medical decisions are not made out of careless disregard for life. They are errors in judgement or due to a variety of reasons. Most accidental gun deaths are due to lack of respect for a lethal weapon. Having witnessed both, I know which is worse. Having seen someone I know accidentally "blow away" his friend with a shotgun (then spend 24 months in jail for manslaughter) and having seen many potentially preventable deaths, I do know the difference.

To put this in perspective, do a search and see how many "wrongful death" claims are successfully litigated in the US. I assure you it's nowhere near 120,000 per year. Not even in that order of magnitude. Insurance costs would be $150,000 per year per physician just to cover wrongful deaths claims paid out (assuming a million dollars apiece), not to mention the costs of paying claims other than wrongful death.

Having been involved in medical staff leadership positions over the course of a number of years I do not believe those numbers. It was rare that a case came up when I was chief of medicine that really was a "wrongful death". If those statistics are accurate I should have seen roughly one for every six physicians per year or maybe 20/year in a 120 member department. Even if we missed half of them, I still should have seen 10 per year. The numbers were nothing close to that. They more more like one every year or two. At least that's my recollection.

Originally Posted by PaulSage

Just curious... not a stab at anyone.

Originally Posted by Matt Haines

Being a gun owner myself this is not meant as a stab at you.

Being a gun owner who rarely visits doctors but has been friends with a few I have this question:

How many people have been stabbed by doctors and how many people have been stabbed by gun owners?

Originally Posted by kiote9

Being a gun owner who rarely visits doctors but has been friends with a few I have this question:

How many people have been stabbed by doctors and how many people have been stabbed by gun owners?

Doctors stab patients in the operating room all of the time. How do you think they insert those trochars into those tiny incisions for laparoscopic surgery?

DUH!!!!

I have two stab wound scars (for chest tubes) thanks to a doctor.

NEVER have I been stabbed by a gun owner.

Originally Posted by kiote9

DUH!!!!

I have two stab wound scars for chest tubes thanks to a doctor.

NEVER have I been stabbed by a gun owner.

You asked for that (or at least gave permission). What were you doing having a pneumothorax anyway?

I've never been stabbed or shot but I'd rather be stabbed by a doctor in the operating room than shot (or stabbed) by anyone anywhere else.