Houston Misdiagnosis Attorney

What is Medical Misdiagnosis?

When a professional misdiagnoses a medical illness, condition, or injury, he or she could be guilty of medical malpractice. A misdiagnosis could mean the doctor was merely off-track when diagnosing an injury or illness or misread test results. A misdiagnosis could worsen a medical condition, significantly delay the correct diagnosis (and resulting treatment), and even result in death. If the misdiagnosis resulted from a physician who failed to follow the accepted medical care standards, then a medical malpractice claim could be warranted.

As an example, suppose a heart attack is misdiagnosed as a panic attack or indigestion. In such a scenario, the patient could suffer irreparable harm or even death as a result. If a disease like Lyme disease is misdiagnosed as the flu, critical treatment could be delayed, which could have had a much greater chance of success if it had been started earlier. Patients who find themselves worse after visiting their doctor and being told they are “fine” should never wait; instead, they should go to urgent care or an ER immediately.

Your health should always be your number one priority. If you were misdiagnosed—and that misdiagnosis caused you additional injury—you should speak to The Brothers Law Firm as quickly as possible. Attorney John Brothers will evaluate your claim, and if a medical malpractice lawsuit is warranted, he will guide you through the often-complex process. You should never have to face medical malpractice on your own, and The Brothers Law Firm can help you during this difficult time.

Call The Brothers Law Firm today at (903) 829-3877 or contact us online to schedule a consultation with our misdiagnosis attorney in Houston.

How Often Does Medical Misdiagnosis Occur?

According to one source of misdiagnosis statistics, each year, there are more than 12 million cases of misdiagnosis across the United States—about one in 20 patients. Between 10 and 20 percent of those misdiagnosed individuals have a severe medical condition, and 44 percent have some type of cancer. The three most misdiagnosed types of cancer include thyroid cancer, prostate cancer, and breast cancer.  About 28 percent of misdiagnoses can be life-threatening or life-altering.

What are the Most Common Types of Medical Misdiagnosis?

Medical misdiagnoses tend to occur more often in urgent care or ER settings because the patient is generally not established with the clinic or hospital physicians; therefore, the doctor may not have a full and accurate medical history. Because of this, a doctor in a super-busy ER might not be held to the same standard of care as a patient’s regular doctor. Although an ER doctor who misdiagnoses an illness that another ER doctor, given the same circumstances, could have appropriately diagnosed could be held liable. General practitioners or specialists can make misdiagnoses that can have very serious effects. Such a misdiagnosis could be due to:

• Failure to order proper screening tests
• Misreading the results of a test
• An overly tired doctor
• A doctor who has too many patients
• Failure to take a full medical history
• Failure to listen to the patient’s symptoms
• Overconfidence in a medical diagnosis without the benefit of tests

Those misdiagnosed could experience exacerbated symptoms, take unnecessary medications (or are not taking the medicines they need), undergo unnecessary medical treatments (or are not receiving needed medical treatments), and see their health go quickly downhill.