It can happen anywhere, as misdiagnosis is when the doctor diagnoses you with a medical condition you don’t have. A wrong diagnosis is common in health care facilities, mainly when a patient has symptoms similar to another medical condition.
It’s only a misdiagnosis if the symptoms and lab tests lead a doctor to wrongly diagnose your condition.
Misdiagnosis is a serious medical malpractice error because it causes adverse health problems, both physical and mental. Wrong diagnosis leads to incorrect treatment for an illness that the patient doesn’t have causes unnecessary harm.
Are all misdiagnoses due to negligence?
Not really. Some cases are beyond their control, although many are preventable. A competent medical malpractice attorney helps victims file a lawsuit and negotiates an agreeable compensation. The attorney gets the victim justice for the negligent acts of the medical professional.
It’s only negligent if the doctor fails to follow due procedure, runs enough tests, or checks the patient’s medical history leading to a wrong diagnosis.
Proving negligence requires showing a duty of care between the hospital, the patient, and the doctor. Also, you must prove that the medical professional breached their duty which led to the misdiagnosis. Also, verify that the wrong diagnosis caused significant harm.
Consequences of misdiagnosis on a patient’s life
One in 20 adults is misdiagnosed, leaving them very sick or dead. Wrongful diagnosis accounts for $39 billion of medical malpractice debts. They are the leading cause of disability and wrongful death claims.
Patients often find themselves dealing with serious health complications arising from misdiagnosis. Inaccuracies in testing and medical errors mean the difference between life and death.
False-negative misdiagnosis
It’s a situation where the patient doesn’t receive the medical treatment they need. The doctor runs tests and determines that the patient is healthy. For instance, the patient fails to get radiation treatment when they have cancer-causing them to live in extreme pain or even death.
The patient fails to get the proper treatment leading to their premature death and needless suffering. Consult Washington, DC failure to diagnose cancer lawyer for legal advice of filing a lawsuit. You will also get an overview of the process.
False-positive diagnosis
The doctor diagnoses a disease that a patient doesn’t have. The diagnosis leads to dangerous treatment for a condition not present, like radiation for non-existent cancer.
It’s negligence and has severe health consequences that affect the patient for the rest of their life. Also, a patient may receive medication for a non-existent condition that puts their health at risk or causes their death.
Equivocal diagnosis
An equivocal diagnosis is inconclusive or left questionable. The action leaves the patient suffering from a disease that continues to progress without getting the proper treatment.
The severity of the misdiagnosis depends on the patient’s medical condition. It can lead to death, more health complications, or extreme pain.
What are the effects of misdiagnosis on the patient’s life?
Wrongful diagnosis has severe health effects on the patient’s life which include;
⦁ Unpleasant side-effects from the wrong medications
⦁ Unnecessary consumption of drugs leads to health problems
⦁ Allergic reactions and rashes due to wrong medications
⦁ Damage to the nervous system due to bad treatments
⦁ Low or high blood pressure
⦁ Increased anxiety, stress, and depression
⦁ Worsening of present health conditions because of the wrong diagnosis
⦁ Unnecessary medical bills for the incorrect treatment
⦁ Developing other diseases
⦁ Wrong surgery
⦁ Death
A patient endures suffering and pain because of the negligent actions of the medical professional. Don’t tolerate it at all. People are taught to rely on medical experts to keep them safe and healthy. A failure of the doctor to do their job inflicts needless pain and deserves legal action against them.
Cases warranting medical malpractice claims
Wrong diagnosis & treatment
Diseases like syncope and epilepsy have similar symptoms, which makes them easy to misdiagnose. Syncope is easily curable, but when mistaken for epilepsy, a patient suffers severe consequences.
Delayed diagnosis & treatment
Delay in treating medical conditions because of earlier misdiagnosis makes the patient suffer health complications resulting in more pain or death.
Overdose and receiving the wrong medication
Patients consuming wrong medications suffer severe health complications and side effects. A drug overdose due to negligence leads to death or more health problems like organ damage, paralysis, etc.
Wrongly analyzing test reports
The medical professionals failing to analyze test reports properly causes confusion and wrong diagnosis. The action causes unnecessary health problems.
Wrong surgery
A patient gets a wrong operation like a kidney transplant when theirs is perfectly healthy. The surgeon can amputate a healthy limb and leave the unhealthy one.
What should you do?
Even thinking about the above consequences is intimidating. However, there are thousands of patients going through these terrible experiences every day. If someone you know or you received an injury due to misdiagnosis, feel free to call us for legal assistance.
