Misdiagnosis is a dangerous thing to happen to a person with a medical condition. Misdiagnosis can delay a patient’s correct treatment which can lead to their death. What exactly is a misdiagnosis? Misdiagnosis refers to a medical condition being diagnosed with another medical condition that has nothing to do with the condition that the patient originally has.
The real question is how can misdiagnosis even occur with all the advancement in medicine and highly skilled/trained doctors? Well, we are all human. Mistakes will happen regardless of the profession that a person may have. In fact, misdiagnosis affects 12 million people every year. That means that about 1 in every 20 people will be misdiagnosed at some point in their lifetime.
What are the exact causes of these grave mistakes? Determining why these mistakes happen is endless. Our firm can help their clients establish why their misdiagnosis occurred. A misdiagnosis can happen for any medical condition and can have serious repercussions. Every medical condition should be taken seriously because each medical condition can worsen if not treated properly. Yeah, there are some medical conditions that cure themselves on their own, but the vast majority of medical conditions require treatment.
When an incorrect diagnosis is given that means the patient will not receive adequate treatment. When adequate treatment is not given, the patient will not get better. If the patient gets injured because of the misdiagnose, they can seek legal consultation.
Why and Who Can Cause Misdiagnosis?
Below will be listed who can be the cause of misdiagnosis and exactly how they can cause it:
The patient: How is the patient responsible for the misdiagnosis if it occurred to them? Well, if a patient does not report certain symptoms they are having or forget to describe a symptom, that forgetfulness can be the cause for medical misdiagnosis. One little symptom can mean the difference between two medical conditions. Another reason is that the patient does not go to the tests that were ordered by their doctor.
The physician: The physician has much more ways of being the cause of misdiagnosis than the patient does. These are some causes for misdiagnosis:
- The physician might only be aware of the common disease but there are more than 20,000 diseases present in humans.
- The physician might be in a hurry because they have too much work
- The physician might not be skilled in the area of the disease like a specialist would be
- The physician might confuse symptoms
- Incorrectly read the lab results
Misdiagnosis Leading To An Injury Or Death
The worse consequence that can come from a misdiagnosis is someone’s death, but also being catastrophically injured. Misdiagnosis is a grave mistake by a medical professional that should not be happening. Medical professionals need to take their time with every patient by examining all of their symptoms and making sure they haven’t missed anything. A victim of a misdiagnosed should be compensated to the full extent.
