Delayed or Missed Diagnosis
Delays in diagnosis can directly impact a patient’s chance of recovery and survival. The earlier an illness is correctly diagnosed and treated, the better chance the patient has at recovery and survival. The failure to diagnose health issues early can lead to more serious complications of the illness or even death. Incorrect or delayed diagnosis of an illness can cause a doctor or other hospital personnel to fail to order necessary tests, to order the wrong tests, to misinterpret test results, to fail to act on abnormal results, or to choose an incorrect form of treatment or no treatment at all. If a doctor fails to identify a treatable health condition and the condition became worse, the patient may have a medical malpractice claim for delayed diagnosis.
What Diagnoses are Missed and Why?
One study found that cancer was the most commonly missed diagnosis. But patients with many types of illnesses have reported a delay in diagnosis or a missed diagnosis. There are several steps in the process of diagnosing an illness. In some cases, a proper diagnostic test is not performed. Sometimes test results are not followed up adequately, or the doctor or nurse does not obtain adequate information from the patient or perform an adequate physical examination. Also, doctors may incorrectly interpret results.
Settlements/Verdicts$1.76 MILLION SETTLEMENT REACHED OVER PATIENT'S DEATH FROM UNTREATED SEPSISA 36-year-old woman who worked as a CPA at a public university had been a long-time patient of a large multi-speciality medical practice. She went to the primary care division and was seen by a physician who had not treated her before. more >MENINGITIS MISSED IN ER AND BY PEDIATRICIAN RESULTS IN $7.8 MILLION SETTLEMENTMartin & Jones retained more than 20 of the foremost experts in pediatric infectious disease, neurology, radiology, nephrology, and emergency medicine to assist with the case of a little girl who suffered profound brain damage due to meningitis which was undiagnosed, even though her mother repeatedly took her to the emergency room and her pediatrician. more >$1.775 MILLION SETTLEMENT FOR PARENTS OF GIRL WHO DIED IN HOSPITAL DUE TO DELAYED TRANSFERA four-year-old girl with a serious heart defect died because of a delay in transferring her from a local hospital to a major medical center which was only two hours away. The little girl was in her local hospital for severe breathing problems caused by her heart defect. more >UNDIAGNOSED MENINGITIS LEADS TO DEATH OF LITTLE GIRL/ PARENTS RECEIVE $1.35 MILLION SETTLEMENTA two-week old infant developed meningitis while hospitalized for dehydration. The meningitis went undiagnosed for four days, leading to brain damage and ultimately death. more >$4 MILLION SETTLEMENT FOR YOUNG WOMAN PARALYZED BY UNTREATED EPIDURAL INFECTION
|
