Misdiagnosis and Failure to Timely Diagnose
With the advances that modern medicine has made in the last decade, one might assume that misdiagnosis is an issue of the past. According to an article published in the *American Medical Association, there has been no improvement concerning misdiagnosis claims since the 1930s. The United States devotes one-seventh of the economy'’s wealth to healthcare, yet misdiagnosis and failure to timely diagnose continue to kill thousands of Americans each year. The AMA has ranked misdiagnosis and failure to timely diagnose the third leading cause of death in the United States.
The failure of healthcare professionals to timely and accurately diagnose medical conditions such as cancer or heart attacks can have disastrous and even fatal consequences for patients and their families. Unfortunately some medical conditions, like cancer, infection, heart attack or stroke do not have the luxury of time; a misdiagnosis can mean the difference between life and death.
The failure to diagnose a condition is one of the more common types of negligence within the healthcare industry, resulting in nearly 40 percent of all medical malpractice claims. The most damaging misdiagnosis actions arise from conditions such as:
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Breast cancer
- Appendicitis
- Infection
- Lung cancer
- Colon cancer
- Brain Injury
Sometimes physician’s errors result in a partial misdiagnosis. This occurs when doctors identify the basic disease correctly but either misdiagnose the subtype or simply do not determine a subtype at all. In many cases, the correct diagnosis of the subtype is very important.
There are many things you can do to avoid or reduce the risk of a misdiagnosis:
- See a doctor: The majorities of doctor diagnoses are correct and are far more likely to be accurate than your own. Never self-diagnose.
- See a specialist: A trained specialist is even less likely to make an incorrect diagnosis.
- Get a second opinion: Getting the opinion of two or more doctors makes the chances of a wrong diagnosis even lower.
- Ask for a diagnosis: Ask your doctor to explicitly name the condition that is their diagnosis.
- Ask questions: Ask your physician questions until you have a better understanding of what your condition is and why.
- Consider repeat laboratory or pathology tests.
If you have a question about a misdiagnosis or a physician failing to timely diagnose, contact Brett H. Oppenheimer, PLLC. Brett and his legal team will take the time to investigate your claims, and they represent individuals across the state of Kentucky, so contact Brett today for a free consultation.
