Articles

4 Common Risk Factors for Misdiagnoses and Medical Malpractice (Pt. 1)

August 30, 2014

One of the leading risk factors for misdiagnoses is the lack of time that doctors have to spend with patients. Contact us if you’ve been the victim of malpractice in a military hospital.

Misdiagnoses are an all-too-common and deadly form of medical malpractice. In fact, recently published studies have found that, every year in the U.S., more than 12 million people are misdiagnosed. Putting this into perspective, this means that at least 1 in every 20 people in the U.S. is misdiagnosed when they receive medical care.

While any number of different factors – including a physician’s inexperience or carelessness – can contribute to a misdiagnosis and serious injuries among patients, some less obvious factors may be far more common than you think.

In this blog series, we will take an in-depth look at some of the leading risk factors for misdiagnoses in the U.S. If you believe that you may have been hurt by a misdiagnosis at any military hospital or medical facility, don’t hesitate to contact our military medical malpractice lawyers for a professional case evaluation and advice regarding your options for obtaining compensation.

What Causes Misdiagnoses: A Look at Some of the Leading Risks Factors

1. Lack of Time with Patients

Without a doubt, one of the leading risk factors for misdiagnoses in the U.S. is the fact that doctors and other medical professionals have very limited time to spend with each of their patients. In fact, on average, doctors have between 10 and 15 minutes to spend with any given patient. What this ends up meaning is that:

• People may not have time to fully explain their symptoms to doctors.
• Doctors will likely not have time to ask all questions that need to be asked regarding a person’s condition.
• Doctors may rush their reviews of patients’ files and/or test results.
• Misdiagnoses end up happening.

2. Lack of Access to Patients’ Complete Medical History

Another fundamental reason that doctors may be unable to make a correct diagnosis of a given patient can be that the medical professional does not have access to all of the pertinent information regarding a patient’s medical history. When this factor is combined with some of the other risk factors for misdiagnoses (like, for instance, the lack of time that doctors have to spend with patients), it’s no wonder that doctors often get it wrong when it comes to properly diagnosing people.

For our continued discussion about the common risk factors for misdiagnoses in the U.S., be sure to look for the conclusion to this blog that will be posted in September.

Military Medical Malpractice Lawyers: Experience & Skills You Can Trust

Have you or a loved one been injured due to a misdiagnosis in a military hospital? If so, the military medical malpractice lawyers at the Law Firm of Brown Law is here to help you. We have the skills and expertise to get you the justice you deserve. Although no amount of money can ever make up for an injury or wrongful death caused by medical malpractice, the compensation we could help you recover will go a long way in covering medical costs and the pain and suffering you have endured.

Contact Us Today

Please call us toll-free at 1-877-695-8757 24 hours a day seven days a week, e-mail us at LawHelp@MilitaryMedicalMalpractice.com or use the online form at the upper right-hand side of the screen. To encourage injured parties to learn more about their legal rights, our law firm provides free initial consultations, consideration even if another law firm has turned you down and availability 24 hours a day seven days a week.

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