Tag: failure to diagnose

In healthcare, diagnoses serve as the cornerstone of treatment and recovery. They guide medical interventions, shape patient journeys, and ultimately determine outcomes. Yet, what happens when these medical diagnoses miss the mark? Diagnostic errors are a silent yet profound threat to individuals and families. Diagnostic errors occur when a diagnosis is missed, wrong, or delayed, leading to severe patient consequences. Medical misdiagnosis and other diagnostic errors can stem from many factors, including misinterpretation of symptoms, flawed testing processes, communication breakdowns among healthcare providers, and even systemic issues within healthcare systems.

Research Concludes Burden of Serious Harm from Diagnostic Errors

An article first published on July 17, 2023, and updated on August 8, 2023, by BMJ Quality & Safety sheds light on the staggering burden of serious harms resulting from diagnostic errors. The study aimed to estimate the annual US burden of serious misdiagnosis-related harms. The findings by BMJ Quality, which were also reported in Johns Hopkins Medicine, are sobering, concluding that diagnostic errors contribute to a significant portion of adverse events in healthcare settings.

According to the original research of BMJ Quality, Burden of serious harms from diagnostic error in the USA, it was concluded that “an estimated 795,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled by diagnostic error each year, making it the single largest source of serious harms from medical mistakes.” The results suggest that diagnostic error is probably “the single largest source of death across all care settings linked to medical error.” These errors can occur in any healthcare setting, including emergency departments, primary care clinics, specialty care clinics, and inpatient settings.

According to the BMJ Quality research, Diagnostic error or medical misdiagnosis of just 15 diseases accounted for about half of all severe harm. The research found that diagnostic errors involving the ‘Big Three’ categories together – infection, vascular, and cancer – accounted for 50% of the serious harms. Among these, five conditions were linked to the largest number of serious harms. They included stroke misdiagnosis, sepsis, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism (blood clot in a vein), and lung cancer.

The Human Toll of Medical Misdiagnosis

Behind these study numbers lies a far more poignant narrative—the human toll of diagnostic errors. Beyond the statistics are individuals and families grappling with the aftermath of misdiagnoses. It’s a narrative of silent suffering, where patients endure unnecessary pain, complications, and even loss of life due to diagnostic errors. Often, a family is left grappling with unanswered questions and unspoken grief.

A medical misdiagnosis, a delayed diagnosis, or a healthcare professional’s failure to diagnose can result in severe consequences for a patient. This can include serious injury caused by a worsening condition or the tragic loss of life. Diagnostic errors can result in delayed treatment, incorrect treatment, incorrect medication, or missed preventative measures. This can all lead to a worsening of a patient’s condition. In the event of a severe illness, diagnostic errors can be life-threatening.

If you or a family member has suffered harm from medical misdiagnosis or another diagnostic error, consult with a skilled medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. An experienced attorney will closely examine the facts and evaluate your case. An experienced diagnostic error attorney can help you seek compensation for injury caused by medical misdiagnosis. This might include medical bills, long-term care expenses, rehab, loss of wages, and pain and suffering.

Schedule a Consultation Today

It’s time to move beyond the numbers and unveil the human toll of diagnostic errors. If you’ve suffered physical or emotional harm due to a diagnostic error, contact a medical misdiagnosis attorney at Distasio, Kowalski & Yelen, LLC today. Our experienced DKY medical malpractice attorneys will meet with you to discuss if negligence on the part of your healthcare provider caused harm. In the event of medical malpractice, there are steps we can help you take to get the justice you deserve. Tap to contact DKY for a no-obligation case evaluation.

 

 

A delay in stroke diagnosis or failure to diagnose a stroke can lead to permanent brain damage or even death. Delay in diagnosis or failure to diagnose a stroke might happen for a variety of reasons. One of the most critical mistakes a medical professional can make is a misdiagnosis of a stroke. According to the American Heart Association 2022 Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics Update Fact Sheet, stroke accounted for 1 of every 19 deaths in the United States. On average, someone died of a stroke every 3 minutes and 30 seconds.

7 Possible causes for a delay in stroke diagnosis  

  1. Failure on the part of a medical professional to properly prioritize the care of a patient based on the severity of injury/illness.
  2. Failure on the part of a healthcare professional to ask about risk factors and take a detailed medical history.
  3. Inadequate levels of medical staff in a healthcare facility.
  4. Failure by a physician to conduct a proper physical exam or order the appropriate testing based on symptoms.
  5. Lack of experience on the part of medical staff.
  6. Failure to properly monitor a patient.
  7. Failure to follow proper protocol for stroke patients

Tests to help properly diagnose a stroke 

Getting the proper medical treatment quickly when suffering a stroke is critical for minimizing the side effects and preventing death. This includes a thorough physical and neurological exam. Unfortunately, an ER doctor or other medical professional might overlook or ignore early signs of a stroke. It happens more often than you may realize, causing a critical delay in treatment. Here are some tests that can help properly diagnose a stroke. 

  • Magnetic resonance imaging or MRI uses powerful magnets and radio waves to take a detailed picture of a brain. It’s sharper than a CT scan and
    MRI ( Magnetic resonance imaging ) of brain

    can show injuries earlier than a traditional CT scan.

  • CT scans. Through computerized tomography (CT) scans, a physician takes several x-rays from different angles and puts them together to show if there’s any bleeding in the brain or damage to brain cells.
  • Carotid ultrasound. This type of ultrasound uses sound waves to find fatty deposits that may have narrowed or blocked arteries that carry blood to your brain.
  • This imaging test of the heart can look for clots in the heart or enlarged parts of the heart. Sometimes clots that form in another part of the body, such as the heart, will travel to the brain.
  • Angiograms of the head and neck. This is a dye test that enables a physician to see blood vessels with an X-ray. It can help find a blockage or aneurysm.

If you’re advocating for someone you believe is having a stroke, don’t be afraid to request these tests.

The use of tPA as a stroke treatment

tPA (Tissue Plasminogen Activator) is a powerful drug used to help dissolve a clot that may be causing a patient’s stroke and restore blood flow to the brain. tPA would only be given to a patient with an ischemic or blockage-type stroke. Ischemic strokes account for about 85% of all strokes in the U.S. and tPA is a common treatment of ischemic stroke caused by a clot. It would be very dangerous if given to a patient who is already bleeding, such as one suffering from a hemorrhagic stroke. A hemorrhagic stroke occurs when an artery in the brain leaks blood or ruptures.  For tPA to be used correctly, a brain scan is used to determine what type of stroke occurred, if there is a clot, and if so, where it is located. tPA must be given within three hours of the first sign of ischemic stroke.

Consequences of failure to diagnose a stroke 

Many victims of delayed stroke diagnosis face lengthy recovery and lifelong medical bills. Importantly, failure to diagnose and properly treat a stroke can result in serious neurological impairments, including:

  • Loss of motor skills
  • Paralysis
  • Speech impairment
  • Memory problems & difficulty understanding
  • Diminished reading comprehension & writing ability
  • Behavioral changes
  • Depression
  • Difficulty eating or swallowing
  • Seizures

When a stroke happens, minutes matter

Sadly, one of the most frequent types of medical malpractice cases we see is a failure to diagnose a stroke. As we mentioned above, stroke treatment is most successful with early intervention and proper diagnosis and care. Importantly, delay in diagnosis can have lifelong consequences for a stroke patient. The National Institute of Health reported that each year, about 795,000 people in the U.S. suffer from strokes. It is a leading cause of death and disability. If you or a loved one have been injured because of failure to diagnose a stroke, the medical misdiagnosis lawyers at Distasio & Kowalski can help.

Tap to learn more about Stroke Misdiagnosis.

Tap to read a blog about the Warning Signs & Risk Factors for a stroke.