Misdiagnosis found to be Common Malpractice Claim

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

Misdiagnosis found to be Common Malpractice Claim

Written by Malman Law, reviewed by Steve J. Malman.

When it comes to seeking quality medical care, one thing that we all hope to be able to rely on is receiving accurate information. Too many people know the experience of being told that they have a condition only to find out later that they don’t, or of being told that they don’t have a condition only to find out later that they do.

Of course, each of these mistakes brings its own host of potential problems, ranging from getting treated for a problem that does not exist to not being treated and experiencing declining health as a result.  In a study released in early 2013 by Johns Hopkins, it was found that these sorts of problems are all too common—in fact, misdiagnosis accounts for a majority of payouts for all malpractice claims.

25 Years of Claims

Researchers studied more than 350,000 malpractice cases spanning 25 years, and found that more than a third of the total payouts had stemmed from misdiagnosis cases. Lead researcher David Newman-Toker said in a statement, “This is more evidence that diagnostic errors could easily be the biggest patient safety and medical malpractice problem in the United States. These are frequent problems that have played second fiddle to medical and surgical errors, which are evident more immediately.”

One possible reason for this is that misdiagnoses are difficult to measure, keep track of, or even find sometimes.  This can mean a very long gap between when the problem is noticed and when medical care was administered, which can make it hard to trace the problem as being directly caused by the medical care. Doctors are human and make mistakes like anyone—however, when their mistakes cause serious health problems, it’s important to seek justice for the problem at hand.

How Can a Lawyer Help You?

With malpractice cases, it is essential to involve a lawyer as early as possible. Not only will they be able to help you sort through things like statutes of limitations and insurance, but they’ll have the experience necessary to guide you down the best path in dealing with your case.  A misdiagnosis case can have serious consequences for a person’s health, including progression of disease, pain, or even death, so if you or someone you know has experienced a case of being misdiagnosed, it’s important to contact a medical malpractice lawyer for help.

If you are in need of quality legal representation, contact Malman Law today.