If a doctor fails to make an accurate and timely diagnosis of a harmful medical condition, patients may pursue a legal remedy by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. One key question in these kinds of cases is whether the doctor breached the applicable "medical standard of care" under the circumstances. In other words, would a similarly-trained doctor in the same medical community have spotted the health problem (or identified it within a shorter period of time)? In the sections that follow, we’ll discuss some common misdiagnosis scenarios, and illustrate how a medical malpractice case might proceed.
If a doctor misdiagnosed your condition, and as a result, your condition worsened, you may be able to sue under the theory of medical negligence.
Common Types of Misdiagnosis
While there are as many potential misdiagnosis scenarios as there are diseases and other health problems, some of the most common types of misdiagnosis are:
- asthma (may be misdiagnoses as recurring bronchitis)
- cancer (misdiagnosis can lead to painful, debilitating and unnecessary treatment like chemotherapy and radiation)
- heart attack (can be mistaken for indigestion, panic attack, or other issue)
- lymph node inflammation (can be mistaken for appendicitis)
- staph infection (may be misdiagnosed as common flu)
- stroke (may be dismissed as migraine or other comparatively minor issue, especially in younger patients)
Typically a misdiagnosis case involves either a delayed diagnosis or mismanagement of diagnostic testing. Misdiagnosis may also involve:
- failure to screen for a particular medical condition
- failure to refer a patient to a specialist
- misinterpretation of lab test results
- failure to properly consult with the patient as to his or her symptoms, and
- failure to properly follow up and investigate potential causes of symptoms that are reported.
Medical Malpractice Lawsuits for Misdiagnosis
When it comes to lawsuits over misdiagnosis, plaintiffs need to follow the same steps for proving medical malpractice as in any other kind of case. It must be shown that, in failing to accurately diagnose a harmful health condition, the doctor failed to demonstrate the level of skill that a similarly-trained and experienced doctor would have shown under the circumstances.
It must also be shown that the doctor’s provision of sub-standard care led to harm to the patient.
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