Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is a surprisingly common theme in medical malpractice litigation. We see this as a central issue in many of our cases. Misdiagnosis, wrong diagnosis or delayed diagnosis accounts for a substantial number of claims and frequently can make a significant difference, between life and death. Just last year I handled a [...]
Stroke in children follows patterns similar to adults and is much more common than previously suspected, according to two recent studies. Though we tend to associate stroke with older adults, it is not uncommon in children. In fact, it occurs in about 12 of every 100,000 children, and is one of the leading causes of childhood [...]
Stroke is a devastating condition, but no more so than when it strikes a young person. We think of the disease as being a condition that affects the elderly and infirm. But, cases arise involving young adults. Some conditions that lead to stroke, or cardiovascular accident (CVA), in younger patients include atrial fibrillation and carotid artery dissections. A recent [...]
What causes doctors to misdiagnosis a medical condition? After all, they are trained to diagnose and treat all kinds of medical conditions and we expect them to keep us safe and to accurately diagnose us so that we can prevent avoidable harm. They are taught in medical school to use the differential diagnosis method to [...]
Strokes or cardiovascular accidents (CVAs) often give rise to medical negligence cases. There are a number of factors behind this basic fact: (1) Prophylactic measures are available to prevent many CVAs. For instance, patients with atrial fibrillation may benefit from preventative anticoagulation, depending upon their age, blood pressure, past medical history and related factors. (2) Time is of [...]
When there is a misdiagnosis of many medical conditions, those conditions become more dangerous with a worse prognosis. For a medical malpractice attorney in Ohio, misdiagnosis cases require a thorough interview of the potential client and a careful review of all available medical records. Further, the lawyer must avail himself/herself of current medical concepts to know whether an early, accurate diagnosis would have [...]
An interesting article on misdiagnosis appeared in this Monday's Washington Post. The article, entitled "Misdiagnosis Is More Common Than Drug Errors Or Wrong-Site Surgery," reports that the correct diagnosis is missed, incorrect or delayed in as many as 10 to 20 percent of cases. In many cases, the correct diagnosis may be made in time to avoid any [...]
Stroke is a leading cause of death and disability in the U.S. Many strokes, also called cerebral vascular accidents or CVAs, are preventable with proper medical advice, such as controlling hypertension or anticoagulating certain patients with atrial fibrillation ("A Fib"). When a CVA occurs, if care providers act quickly, treatments exist to reverse its effects, such as [...]
Misdiagnosis often occurs when physicians cut corners, jump to conclusions, ignore symptoms, and/or fail to rule out less common causes of a given symptom complex. Frequently, the mistake is as simple as performing a key test when a patient's presentation is consistent with a life-threatening condition. We see this time and time again with lumbar puncture. Today, I [...]
Medical misdiagnosis is a major contributor to unnecessary treatment, increased medical costs and poor outcomes for patients. Several recent studies published in Health Affairs show that many doctors do a poor job of "activating" their patients -- engaging their patients, listening to their concerns, discussing treatment options and involving them in treatment decisions. Low activation rates lead to poor grades on [...]