Medical Misdiagnosis: A Common Medical Mistake That Could Cost Your Life

Once you receive a diagnosis from a doctor, you may feel relief that your search for a cure to your ailments is finally over. However, don't let your guard down too quickly. New York City medical misdiagnosis is an extremely common medical mistake that could lead to serious problems, especially if the true cause of your ailments is never treated. Your condition could worsen and could leave you with irreversible injuries.

If you suspect that you were wrongly diagnosed with a disease or condition, you may wish to seek a second opinion, consult specialists, get further testing done, and research the condition to determine whether you believe it fits your symptoms.

A misdiagnosis can range from a completely wrong diagnosis to a partial misdiagnosis, where the physician may have properly diagnosed the condition, but not the proper subtype, cause, medications, or complications.

The Dangers of Medical Misdiagnosis

If you have received a serious misdiagnosis, it is imperative that you contact a New York medical malpractice lawyer immediately. If your condition is misdiagnosed, you may:

• Not get the proper medication for your condition, resulting in the progression of your symptoms.

• Experience unnecessary problems and symptoms due to receiving the incorrect medication.

• Not receive the surgery you need to cure your condition.

• Undergo unnecessary surgery.

• Suffer untimely death due to the untreated or improperly treated condition.

The misdiagnosis rate does vary drastically between the type of ailment and setting. For example, the misdiagnosis of a cancer biopsy by a pathology department is about 1%, whereas the likelihood of misdiagnosis within an emergency room or ICU is nearly 40%.

A large portion of New York medical malpractice cases are based on misdiagnosis or delayed treatment of serious conditions. Some of the most serious, commonly misdiagnosed conditions include:

• heart attack

• stroke

• pulmonary embolism

• meningitis

• appendicitis

• breast cancer

• lung cancer

• colon cancer

Many of these conditions are misdiagnosed because the patient does not fit the description of the common patient. For example, if a young person or a woman has a heart attack, he or she is not likely to be diagnosed correctly because it is rare for a younger person or woman to suffer from a heart attack.

Some conditions, such as ADHD, sinusitis, and irritable bowel syndrome, are commonly over diagnosed, while others, like type 2 diabetes, hypothyroidism, and osteoporosis, are under diagnosed.

If you have suffered a medical misdiagnosis that has left you with serious injuries, contact our office today. The New York medical misdiagnosis lawyers at The Pagan Law Firm are experienced in handling all types of New York and New Jersey medical malpractice cases.

 

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