When you think of the people that you can trust explicitly, your doctor may very well come to mind. But the truth is that doctors are only human, and thus, subject to the same potential to err as the rest of us. The biggest difference between a layman and a doctor, however, is that the doctor’s error can cause injury or even death to someone else. And one study now says that as many as 12 million people are misdiagnosed by doctors in outpatient clinics across the country each year. That’s one out of every 20 adults.
If a doctor missed a diagnosis, rendered the wrong diagnosis, or even issued a delayed diagnosis in your treatment or the treatment of someone you love, you have a right to file a claim against him. At Kurzban, Kurzban,Tetzeli and Pratt, P.A., our Hawaii medical malpractice attorneys know that the diagnostic process is made up of a variety of factors. Nonetheless, when a doctor doesn’t get it right or if he misses a diagnosis altogether, he must be held accountable, and our attorneys can help.
Types of Medical Diagnostic Errors
Medical errors are now the third-leading cause of death in the United States. Only heart disease and cancer take more victims than the men and women who are charged with ‘doing no harm’ when treating their patients. Diagnostic errors fall under three categories, including:
- Missed diagnoses—the patient’s problem is never diagnosed or explained.
- Wrong diagnoses—the patient’s problem is mistakenly identified.
- Delayed diagnoses—the doctor takes too long in identifying the problem and making a diagnosis.
When a proper diagnosis is not given right away, treatment for the true problem being experienced by the patient may be delayed, allowing the patient’s condition to deteriorate. In the case of wrong diagnoses, it is often the case that the treatment for a condition that doesn’t exist may in itself cause harm, such as chemotherapy for cancer that is not present.
Some of the most common misdiagnoses include:
- Cancer being identified as tuberculosis or a benign mass
- Heart attack being diagnosed as heartburn, chronic pain or flu
- Stroke being identified as alcohol intoxication, migraine headache or vertigo
- Pulmonary embolism thought to be pneumonia, asthma, a chest cold or a heart attack
- Depression diagnosed as diabetes, chronic fatigue syndrome or hypothyroidism
- Appendicitis treated as endometriosis, diverticulitis or pelvic inflammatory disease
- Fibromyalgia diagnose as lupus, rheumatoid arthritis or chronic fatigue syndrome
- Lyme disease treated as flu, depression, meningitis, or mononucleosis
- Multiple sclerosis identified as lupus, bipolar disorder or Alzheimer’s disease
- Endometriosis diagnosed as bowel obstruction, diverticulitis, colon cancer or ectopic pregnancy
Medical Malpractice Claims for Diagnostic Errors
If you or a loved one has experienced harm or died due to a diagnostic error, the time to hold the responsible party accountable is now. Reach out to our medical malpractice attorney in Hawaii to discuss the details of your case and determine your best course of action moving forward. Call Kurzban, Kurzban, Tetzeli and Pratt, P.A. at 808-736-5035 to speak with our Hawaii medical malpractice attorney and set up your case review today.