Medical Misdiagnosis

What is medical misdiagnosis?

Medical misdiagnosis is the cause of 20% of fatal illnesses. Luckily, not all medical misdiagnoses are fatal. A medical misdiagnosis can lead to a worsening of a patient's condition, death, and undue stress and anxiety. Additionally, nonfatal misdiagnoses may be a cause of wasted time, money, tests, and therapies for the patient. There is also the possibility that the patient will suffer unnecessary side effects from taking unneeded medications. 

Types of Medical Misdiagnosis:

  • Wrong disease diagnosed.
  • Failure to diagnose in a reasonable amount of time.
  • Diagnosis of the current condition is right, but the underlying cause is not identified.
  • Medication side effects are mistaken for illness.

Three things have to be proven for a medical misdiagnosis to be considered a form of medical malpractice.

  1. The patient was seeing said physician for a condition, symptoms, and/or treatment.
  2. In what manner was the doctor negligent? A doctor will arrive at a differential diagnosis systematically. The doctor will have a list of possible diagnoses for the illness of a patient. Diagnostic tests are then performed to confirm or rule out possible illnesses. This can result in several things happening:
    • The right diagnosis is made.
    • A wrong diagnosis is made because the correct diagnosis was not in the list of possible diagnoses that MOST reasonable, knowledgeable doctors would have arrived at.
    • A wrong diagnosis is made because the doctor chose the wrong diagnostic test(s) that would have determined the disease -- even though the correct diagnosis was in the list of possibilities.
    • Faulty diagnostic equipment caused inaccurate test results.
    • Diagnostic test results were inaccurate due to human error, such as lab mix-ups, or a misreading of the results.
  3. There was negligence on the part of the physician in causing injury to the patient.

178b0854ede646fe8dd53f5df5a6eda4-Medical

List of the 13 most commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Conditions:

  • Appendicitis
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cervical cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Lung Cancer
  • Meningitis
  • Acute Myocardial Infarction (heart attack)
  • Ovarian Cancer
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Pulmonary Embolism
  • Stroke
  • Testicular Cancer
  • Tuberculosis

If you or a loved one suffered a worsening medical condition or death due to a medical misdiagnosis, you may be eligible for damages. Let the Sweeney Law Firm’s medical experts review the facts to see if you have a medical misdiagnosis malpractice case. The Sweeney Law Firm works on a contingency fee basis, meaning we don’t get paid unless there is a settlement or recovery of funds for you.

What is medical misdiagnosis?

Medical misdiagnosis is the cause for 20% of fatal illnesses. Luckily, not all medical misdiagnoses are fatal. A medical misdiagnosis can lead to a worsening of a patients condition, a death, and undue stress and anxiety. Additionally, non fatal misdiagnoses may be a cause of wasted time, money, tests, and therapies for the patient. There is also the possibility that the patient will suffer unnecessary side effects from taking unneeded medications. 

Types of Medical Misdiagnosis:

  • Wrong disease diagnosed.
  • Failure to diagnose in a reasonable amount of time.
  • Diagnosis of current condition is right, but underlying cause is not identified.
  • Medication side effects mistaken for illness.

Three things have to be proven for a medical misdiagnosis to be considered a form of medical malpractice.

  1. The patient was actually seeing said physician for a condition, symptoms, and/or treatment.
  2. In what manner was the doctor negligent? A doctor will arrive at a differential diagnosis systematically. The doctor will have a list of possible diagnoses for the illness of a patient. Diagnostic tests are then performed to confirm or rule out possible illnesses. This can result is several things happening:
    • The right diagnosis is made.
    • A wrong diagnosis is made because the correct diagnosis was not in the list of possible diagnoses that MOST reasonable, knowledgeable doctors would have arrived at.
    • A wrong diagnosis is made because the doctor chose the wrong diagnostic test(s) that would have determined disease -- even though correct diagnosis was in the list of possibilities.
    • Faulty diagnostic equipment caused inaccurate test results.
    • Diagnostic test results were inaccurate due to human error, such as lab mix ups, or a misreading of the results.
  3. There was negligence on the part of the physician in causing injury to the patient.

178b0854ede646fe8dd53f5df5a6eda4-Medical

List of the 13 most commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Conditions:

  • Appendicitis
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cervical cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Lung Cancer
  • Meningitis
  • Acute Myocardial Infarction (heart attack)
  • Ovarian Cancer
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Pulmonary Embolism
  • Stroke
  • Testicular Cancer
  • Tuberculosis

If you or a loved one suffered a worsening medical condition or death due to a medical misdiagnosis, you may be eligible for damages. Let the Sweeney Law Firm’s medical experts review the facts to see if you have a medical misdiagnosis malpractice case. The Sweeney Law Firm works on a contingency fee basis, meaning we don’t get paid unless there is a settlement or recovery of funds for you.

What is medical misdiagnosis?

Medical misdiagnosis is the cause for 20% of fatal illnesses. Luckily, not all medical misdiagnoses are fatal. A medical misdiagnosis can lead to a worsening of a patients condition, a death, and undue stress and anxiety. Additionally, non fatal misdiagnoses may be a cause of wasted time, money, tests, and therapies for the patient. There is also the possibility that the patient will suffer unnecessary side effects from taking unneeded medications. 

Types of Medical Misdiagnosis:

  • Wrong disease diagnosed.
  • Failure to diagnose in a reasonable amount of time.
  • Diagnosis of current condition is right, but underlying cause is not identified.
  • Medication side effects mistaken for illness.

Three things have to be proven for a medical misdiagnosis to be considered a form of medical malpractice.

  1. The patient was actually seeing said physician for a condition, symptoms, and/or treatment.
  2. In what manner was the doctor negligent? A doctor will arrive at a differential diagnosis systematically. The doctor will have a list of possible diagnoses for the illness of a patient. Diagnostic tests are then performed to confirm or rule out possible illnesses. This can result is several things happening:
    • The right diagnosis is made.
    • A wrong diagnosis is made because the correct diagnosis was not in the list of possible diagnoses that MOST reasonable, knowledgeable doctors would have arrived at.
    • A wrong diagnosis is made because the doctor chose the wrong diagnostic test(s) that would have determined disease -- even though correct diagnosis was in the list of possibilities.
    • Faulty diagnostic equipment caused inaccurate test results.
    • Diagnostic test results were inaccurate due to human error, such as lab mix ups, or a misreading of the results.
  3. There was negligence on the part of the physician in causing injury to the patient.

178b0854ede646fe8dd53f5df5a6eda4-Medical

List of the 13 most commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Conditions:

  • Appendicitis
  • Breast Cancer
  • Cervical cancer
  • Diabetes
  • Lung Cancer
  • Meningitis
  • Acute Myocardial Infarction (heart attack)
  • Ovarian Cancer
  • Prostate Cancer
  • Pulmonary Embolism
  • Stroke
  • Testicular Cancer
  • Tuberculosis

If you or a loved one suffered a worsening medical condition or death due to a medical misdiagnosis, you may be eligible for damages. Let the Sweeney Law Firm’s medical experts review the facts to see if you have a medical misdiagnosis malpractice case. The Sweeney Law Firm works on a contingency fee basis, meaning we don’t get paid unless there is a settlement or recovery of funds for you.