Most medical malpractice claims in outpatient care settings arise from a late or missed diagnosis. According to The Joint Commission, diagnostic errors are responsible for 40,000 to 80,000 injuries or deaths every year in the United States. When a diagnosis is missed, delayed, or incorrect, the underlying condition can progress untreated—turning what could have been a manageable illness into a life-threatening one.
Diagnosis is the cornerstone of effective medical care, and mistakes should not occur simply because a doctor’s office is busy or an insurance policy discourages costly tests. If you believe you may have been the victim of a misdiagnosis, a Charlottesville misdiagnosis medical malpractice lawyer at MichieHamlett can help. For nearly three quarters of a century, our talented failure to diagnose attorneys have represented injury victims across Virginia. We will apply our extensive medical malpractice experience to determine whether the diagnostic process fell below the appropriate standard of care and, if so, work to pursue full compensation for the harm you have suffered.
Misdiagnosis is most likely to occur in a primary care physician’s solo practice. Small doctors’ offices often have a huge workload and large number of patients to see each day, so they are more likely to rush through the diagnostic process. Once doctors land on a likely diagnosis, they might stop there instead of continuing through the process of diagnosis, but doing so can be a critical mistake. A given set of symptoms can be caused by more than one condition, which is why doctors should apply what is known as a differential diagnosis. Through this process, doctors perform tests to rule out possible diagnoses and to confirm their suspected diagnosis once they have developed a single theory as to the correct diagnosis. The most common or simplest diagnosis is not always the correct one, but primary care physicians don’t have the benefit of discussing possible diagnoses with their colleagues.
This is not to say that misdiagnosis does not happen in large hospitals as well. True, medical malpractice in a hospital setting is more likely to result from a surgical error, medication error, or hospital-acquired infection. Nevertheless, misdiagnosis happens here as well. Doctors in hospitals have ready access to diagnostic tools and lab equipment and are more likely to order tests to confirm or rule out a diagnosis. Errors in conducting tests or interpreting results by doctors, radiologists, pathologists and lab technicians can result in a misdiagnosis.
Common causes of misdiagnosis include:
Below are the most common and most serious conditions that are most often misdiagnosed in doctors’ offices, hospital emergency rooms, and urgent care centers:
Doctors sometimes misdiagnose heart attack symptoms as heartburn and send patients home with antacids. Indigestion or heartburn (acid reflux) is a serious condition that requires diagnosis and treatment, but it does not present the same emergency as a heart attack. Men and women often experience heart attack symptoms differently, with pain radiating in different areas of the body. Doctors often mistake heart attack chest pain for muscle strain, pericarditis, or other infections, or shingles in the chest area. Because all of these conditions can cause chest pain, doctors must run appropriate tests to determine the true cause of the patient’s complaint.
Along with heart disease, stroke is a major killer and disease in the U.S. Early diagnosis and treatment of stroke are essential to preventing some of the permanent or debilitating consequences of a stroke. Doctors and nurses train to look for stroke by evaluating a patient’s face, arm, and speech. The acronym FAST reminds providers to check these areas quickly. Nevertheless, many doctors misdiagnose stroke symptoms like headache and dizziness as a migraine or inner ear infection because they fail to take a patient’s medical history or perform the necessary tests.
Doctors and nurses often fail to diagnose infections, even when patients acquire them in the hospital. They should recognize the high risk of infection from catheters, ventilators, central lines, or postoperative surgical sites, and they should stay alert for warning signs such as rapid pulse and fever. Unfortunately, some patients die from sepsis before doctors identify the infection.
Misdiagnosis is especially harmful because you are denied the treatment you need for your actual condition and may also suffer from unnecessary or harmful treatment for a condition you do not have. While diagnosis is not always perfect, negligence is never an excuse. When a medical mistake causes you harm, it is important to hold the doctor or hospital accountable so you can secure proper care, pursue compensation, and help prevent others from experiencing the same outcome.
If you believe that you or a loved one has suffered from a misdiagnosis of cancer or another serious illness, contact us at MichieHamlett today. A Charlottesville misdiagnosis medical malpractice lawyer from our team will provide a no-cost, confidential consultation to review your concerns and explain your options.
