Wall of Silence: The Untold Story of the Medical Mistakes That Kill and Injure Millions of Americans [Hardcover]

Rosemary Gibson (Author), Janardan Prasad Singh (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 2003

Up to 100,000 Americans die each year as a result of some form of medical mistake. And this is just the reported number of deaths. The total number of deaths and other disabilities is estimated to be triple (or more) of what's actually reported. This book takes you behind the scenes to expose heartbreaking stories of medical malpractice, careless misdiagnosis, and downright neglect on the part of health care personnel across the country. Victims are young and old, healthy and infirm, who innocently entrusted their lives to those who took an oath to 'do no harm'. Yet doctors, nurses, hospital administrators, and other medical professionals cover up mistakes every day. This is the complete story of the breadth and depth of medical mistakes. Gibson puts real names and faces to the countless that suffer and die every day because of ineptitude, poor quality, and lack of management in a system that is badly broken. Doctors and nurses also provide first-hand accounts of what actually goes on behind the curtains, describing the mistakes that do happen, but also how terrifyingly close every practitioner is, every moment, to disaster.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A call to arms for families who have had loved ones disabled or dying in the pursuit of medical treatment... Well written and researched... highlights this timely topic in a unique way that will evoke the reader's own experiences."

Product Details

• Hardcover: 256 pages
• Publisher: Lifeline Press (May 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 089526112X
• ISBN-13: 978-0895261120
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #135,082 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #3 in Books > Law > Business > Consumer Law

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Wall of Silence, June 10, 2003

By 

Sandra K. Perfater (Charleston, WV) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Wall of Silence: The Untold Story of the Medical Mistakes That Kill and Injure Millions of Americans (Hardcover)

The Wall of Silence by Rosemary Gibson, is a MUST READ for all comsumers. I say all comsumers because all of us are subject to being the receipent of health care in our life time. As a retired Registered Nurse and also twice a victim of medical negligence, I encourage everyone to read this book of great information about how the medical system functions and how you can protect yourself and your family. Ms. Gibson cites enough examples of the horrendous things which can happen to any of us for the reader to understand how we must all change our "looking to the Gods in White" to being our own advocate for ourselves and our families. With 100,000 people dying every year from medical negligence, it is time we all scream at the top of our lungs to our legislators to make safe health care a number one prioity. Buy your own copy and one for a friend and don't re-sell them. Keep your copy for frequent reference.

20 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "Wall of Silence", June 15, 2003

By 

Diana Artemis (Washington, D.C.) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Wall of Silence: The Untold Story of the Medical Mistakes That Kill and Injure Millions of Americans (Hardcover)

High time a book like this was written putting a human face on the crisis of medical error running rampant in this country. It's time the public realizes what is happening and vocalizes a well-deserved and long-overdue sense of outrage!
Were any other industry guilty of killing the same amount of people per year -- conservative estimates put it at 98,000 per annum; which is the equivalent of one jumbo jet airliner crashing each day, every day throughout the year, year after year, unchecked -- we'd have Congressional inquiries and public demands for accountability and safety, in the same way we demand it of the aviation and chemical process industries.
The healthcare delivery industry touches every person's life and demands no less scutiny and accountability. We need national standards for safety, recognized protocols for handling accidents and 'near misses,' root cause analysis of medical-induced deaths and disabilities and plans for continuous improvement by providers. Most importantly, as this book reveals, we need the system to weed out bad doctors and recognize those who are providing excellent, commited service to the public.
This book puts a face on this pervasive epidemic -- takes the deaths and injuries out of front page, "it will never happen to me" sensationalism and puts it squarely in our own doctors' offices and community hospitals where a broken system continues to harm us and our loved ones without any clamor for improvement.
This book is a wake-up call for reform. I hope it has the same impact on the quality of medical care in this country as "Silent Spring" had on improving the health of our planet. Buy this book and read it today! Then get your Congressman/woman on the phone and demand full disclosure and accountability!

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buy this book, August 4, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Wall of Silence: The Untold Story of the Medical Mistakes That Kill and Injure Millions of Americans (Hardcover)

If you want to know the truth about the medical system and the enormous number of errors and cover-ups within that system, read this book. Well-researched with many shocking and heart-breaking case studies, the book provides answers as well as showing the problems. Thank goodness someone had the courage to buck the system and break down the Wall of Silence for all of us.