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Misdiagnosis Is the Most Costly Medical Mistake

Of all the different forms of medical malpractice, incorrect diagnosis is perhaps the most catastrophic. This is the conclusion of a recent study from Johns Hopkins Medicine, which found that more than 100,000 people in the United States are killed or permanently disabled due to misdiagnosis errors every year.

The misdiagnosis attorneys at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. can help you pursue fair compensation if you or someone in your family has been injured due to medical malpractice. Contact us to learn more about how a Chicago malpractice attorney can help with your case.

Study Findings 

The study from Johns Hopkins found that nearly 75 percent of all diagnosis errors involve three categories, which they have dubbed “the big three:”

  • Vascular events (strokes, heart attacks, aneurysms, etc.)
  • Cancer
  • Infections

Within these three categories, the authors wrote, the most commonly misdiagnosed illnesses are strokes, lung cancer, and sepsis, respectively. These are all serious illnesses, and a cancer misdiagnosis or similar error could have enormous, potentially fatal ramifications for patients.

Main Types of Misdiagnoses

There are many types of medical misdiagnosis errors, including:

  • Delayed diagnosis – A delayed diagnosis could mean that you cannot start treatment or that your treatment may not be as effective as it could be. Even if your doctor eventually reaches the correct diagnosis, the delay could have terrible consequences for your prognosis.
  • Missed diagnosis – If a doctor looks at your symptoms and incorrectly determines you are not sick or that your illness is not especially severe, they have made a missed diagnosis. These errors can prevent patients from getting the treatment they need in time and can have huge health ramifications.
  • Incorrect diagnosis – If your doctor diagnoses you with the wrong injury or illness, your treatment could prove ineffective or may even make your injuries worse.
  • Failing to recognize complications – When making a diagnosis, doctors need to watch for complications that could aggravate the illness or injury. If they fail to notice a complication in time, they may not order the correct treatment.
  • Failing to recognize related illnesses – If a patient is suffering from multiple related illnesses or injuries, each of the conditions must be correctly diagnosed if the patient is to receive proper medical treatment.
  • Failing to recognize unrelated illnesses – Sometimes, patients suffer from multiple unrelated illnesses, but their doctor only diagnoses one of those ailments. An illness that goes unnoticed can ultimately prove life-threatening.

What To Do If You Have Been Misdiagnosed

If you have been injured due to a misdiagnosis error, contact a medical malpractice lawyer right away. You have the right to seek compensation for your injuries, but these cases can be exceptionally difficult to prove. To give yourself the best possible chance of recovering the compensation you deserve, you should work with a Chicago injury lawyer who has experience with these types of cases and knows how to hold careless or negligent doctors and medical providers accountable.

The Chicago Attorneys at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard Can Help

The Chicago misdiagnosis lawyers at Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard, P.C. have helped many malpractice victims find justice, and we want to do the same for you. Call us today or visit our contact page for a free consultation.

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