A widely discussed 2016 paper in The BMJ drew attention to deaths associated with medical error. Its authors, Martin Makary and Michael Daniel, argued that medical error was insufficiently captured in conventional cause-of-death reporting. Their analysis estimated more than 250,000 deaths a year and compared that estimate with the leading causes listed in national mortality statistics.
That was an estimate from an analysis of earlier research, not a national count of individually verified deaths or an official CDC ranking. The article’s original headline stated the conclusion too categorically. The distinction matters: estimates depend on how researchers define an error, identify preventability, select records, and extrapolate their findings.
Why the discussion remains useful
The underlying concern is patient safety. Communication failures, medication mistakes, incomplete records, and problems in the organization of care can cause harm. A troubling outcome, however, does not by itself establish that an error occurred or that a provider was legally negligent. Those are separate questions requiring the relevant medical records and appropriate professional analysis.
For a patient or family, practical preparation can make conversations with the care team easier. Keep an up-to-date medication list, ask for explanations you understand, identify the person authorized to receive information or make decisions, and raise concerns promptly with the treating team. These steps support communication; they do not place responsibility for a provider’s mistakes on the patient.
Planning for someone to speak for you
A Florida designation of health care surrogate can identify the person you want involved in medical decisions and access to information. A living will can express wishes about specified end-of-life circumstances. Discussing those documents with the people you name helps them understand both their role and your values.
We can help with those estate-planning documents. Verras Law does not currently accept personal-injury or medical-malpractice matters. If a client needs help evaluating an injury or possible malpractice claim, we can connect the client with a trusted colleague who handles that work.
This article preserves the historical discussion of the 2016 research while correcting the earlier implication that its numerical estimate is an established current mortality ranking.
Sources: Makary and Daniel, 2016 BMJ publication record; CDC leading causes of death; Florida health care surrogate designation.
Updated October 26, 2026.