Articles

Diagnostic Errors and Medical Malpractice Claims (Part 1)

January 21, 2014

As many as 160,000 preventable diagnostic errors take place each year in the U.S., and victims of these errors are likely entitled to compensation via malpractice cases.

Misdiagnoses are the most expensive type of medical malpractice cases that are filed against the medical community, according to a recent study published in BMJ Quality and Safety (April 2013). In fact, according to the results of this research, which focused on medical malpractice claims filed from 1986 through 2010:

• About 35 percent of all malpractice payouts are to misdiagnosis claims.
• There may be as many as 160,000 cases of preventable misdiagnoses that occur each year in the U.S. and that result in irreversible damage to patients.
• Although most diagnostic errors take place in outpatient settings (e.g., during doctor’s office visits, clinic visits, etc.), diagnostic errors that occur in hospitals are typically the ones that have the most fatal consequences.
• Unlike malpractice claims related to medication errors and surgery errors, those related to diagnostic errors are far more likely to result in death and permanent disability.

Common Diagnostic Errors 

Essentially, diagnostic errors can take three forms:

• Wrong diagnoses, in which doctors make an incorrect diagnosis and, as a result, patients receive inappropriate treatments that may exacerbate the real underlying medical issue
• Delayed diagnoses, in which doctors don’t recognize the symptoms of a health problem until much later when it may be more difficult to treat the health problem and/or additional health complications may have developed
• Missed diagnoses, in which a doctor fails to diagnose the underlying condition altogether and the appropriate diagnosis is not made until a patient sees another physician

Look for our upcoming Part 2 of this blog for some of the common reasons that misdiagnoses happen and some indications that it may be time to talk to a lawyer and pursue a medical malpractice claim.

How the Military Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Brown Law Can Help You

Have you been the victim of diagnostic errors in a military hospital or medical facility? If so, then it may be time for you learn more about your legal rights by meeting with the military medical malpractice attorneys at the Law Firm of Brown Law.

Our military medical malpractice have the skill 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. 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.

When brave men and women like you take on the challenge of protecting our country’s freedom, they deserve the best in legal representation. At Brown Law, we never charge any fees unless we are able to secure the compensation you deserve. Please call us toll-free at 1-877-695-8757 24 hours a day seven days a week. You can also email us using the online form at the upper right-hand side of the screen.

DISCLAIMER: An attorney-client relationship with us cannot be formed by transmission or receipt of the information on this Website and any information you send in an e-mail message to this website will not make you a client. We reserve the right to decline any representation for any reason. This Website is for informational purposes only and is not intended to provide legal advice. You should not act or rely on any information in this Website without seeking the advice of a lawyer