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Hello and thanks for downloading the more or less podcast. We are the show that looks at the

stats and numbers in the news and in life and I'm Tim Harford.

Today is medical error the third leading cause of death in the US, killing hundreds

of thousands of people every year. This claim has been zooming around the internet for years

deployed by the National Rifle Association in disputes with pro-gun-controlled

doctors and recently by right-wing commentator Ben Shapiro in a YouTube video attacking the way

medical staff are hired.

Listen here's the problem. The problem is that the third leading cause of death in the

United States is medical error, that is the third leading cause of death in the United States is medical error. That is the third leading cause of death.

This would be a remarkable claim.

If it's true that only heart disease and cancer kill more people in the US

than the doctors and nurses who are trying to save

those very lives. So where does this claim come from and is it true?

Medical error is not the third leading cause of death in the US.

...