Massachusetts Personal Injury Library
Consequences of Delayed Diagnosis or Failure to Diagnose (Part B)
Why won’t my doctor diagnose me?
When you feel you have not been properly diagnosed, use these strategies to continue to search for answers:
- Ask your doctor what else it can be and what more can be done.
- Ask for a second opinion.
- Research all the information and options provided by the physician.
- If none of your doctors address the failure to find a diagnosis, it is probably time for a new doctor.
Trust yourself. If you think you have been misdiagnosed, talk to your doctor, ask for more tests, or request a second opinion until you obtain the correct diagnosis for your medical condition.
Misdiagnosed at the Emergency Room
Many cases of misdiagnosis happen in the Emergency Department.
Many studies have found that is relatively common for serious conditions such as acute myocardial infarction (heart attack), stroke, pulmonary embolism, meningitis, or appendicitis to be misdiagnosed in emergency care.
Heart Attack
For example, non-typical presentations such as a young person or a woman having a heart attack are less likely to be correctly diagnosed. Furthermore, an ECG test does not rule out a heart attack even if it is normal, and some physicians rely too heavily on this test.
Appendicitis
Appendicitis is another common and serious misdiagnosis in the ER. Initial misdiagnosis rates of appendicitis in children are high, ranging from 28% to 57% under 12 to almost 100% misdiagnosis for appendicitis in infants.”
Financial Implications
During all of this time, the medical bills are piling up and even insurance may not cover all the testing and experiments the doctors want you to try. Patients often feel very frustrated and sometimes start to believe that it is “all in their head,” even though their symptoms are very real.
The lack of a diagnosis can affect the patient’s employment status as well. Without knowing what is wrong, the employer can lose patience with the employee; especially when Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) provisions are used up.
Legal Recourse for Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnosis
Many medical malpractice cases are based on misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, or delayed treatment of serious conditions.
If you have suffered consequences because of a delay in diagnosis, failure to diagnose, or a misdiagnosis, you will want to contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney who can review your case and protect your rights.
The Kiley Law Group will evaluate your case for FREE. There are NO FEES unless one of our Boston medical malpractice lawyers wins your case.
Call today to speak to Tom Kiley: 1-888-208-1695
