What is negligent failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis?
When a healthcare provider mistakenly provides a patient with an inaccurate or incomplete analysis of their health. The healthcare provider either chooses an inappropriate method of care based on the incorrect diagnosis, or chooses an appropriate method, but does not execute it properly for the true diagnosis. In both circumstances serious medical conditions are missed and misdiagnosed. Negligent diagnosis can result in more serious health conditions and sometimes death.
Healthcare providers can prevent a wrongful diagnosis by implementing due diligence and care during diagnostics. As physicians they are held accountable to correctly administer tests, read and decipher lab results, seek opinions from other doctors, and request further exams to diagnose a patient’s condition.
The most commonly misdiagnosed conditions include:
- Cancer
- Diabetes
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Pulmonary embolism
- Bacterial meningitis
Did you know?
- Nearly 80,000 deaths per year are caused by negligent diagnosis.
- Negligent diagnosis makes up over a quarter of a healthcare provider’s mistakes.
- Some studies have found negligent or missed diagnosis to be the cause of death in nearly 40% of autopsies.
During diagnostics patients put faith and trust in their doctors. A negligent diagnosis or failure to diagnose severs that trust, and patients often don’t know where to turn.
If you or a loved one has suffered a wrongful diagnosis or a physician failed to diagnose any condition at all, contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
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At Emroch & Kilduff, our attorneys have been serving victims for more than 50 years. We fight for the rights and interests of victims throughout the surrounding communities.
Call us today at (804) 358-1568 to set up your free, fully confidential and comprehensive case evaluation.