Misdiagnosis

“Doctor, Why Aren’t You Listening To Me?”

Many ailments have similar symptoms. It’s not uncommon to get a misdiagnosis or late diagnosis for a serious condition. Too many patients are hustled in and out of their physician’s office with cursory tests and forms that do not take into account the person sitting in front of them. Relaying to your physician your complaints — from chest pains to dizziness to migraines — only to have them noted as stress, inner-ear problems or allergies, can leave you in a vulnerable position.

You went to the doctor because something was wrong, not for a case of the sniffles.

Commonly Misdiagnosed Illnesses and Diseases

However, misdiagnosis and late diagnosis are a sad, hard fact of life. According to Dr. Robert Bonow, former president of the American Heart Association, heart attack is one of the most misdiagnosed diseases. A person can have a heart attack with few or no symptoms.

Other diseases commonly misdiagnosed include:

  • Meningitis
  • Stroke
  • Prostate cancer
  • Broken bones
  • Bacterial infections

Oversight and Rushing Can Lead to Medical Misdiagnosis

  • Did your doctor or physician really listen to you? Many doctors brush aside your real symptoms for a medical cause they are more familiar with. 
  • Lab tests are often perfunctory and not thorough enough for your symptoms. Doctors promise to take more lab tests if abnormal results are returned, but often don’t.
  • Are your personal markers for a medical problem the same as everyone else’s? Lab tests are given a range of what is considered normal for most people. If your lab test comes back “close enough” to normal, there may be no follow-up.
  • Has your doctor made you aware of your lab test results? Have they promised to call you if anything looks out of place? A doctor should always call you to notify you that they have actually received the results and explain in easy to understand language what the results mean.
  • Doctors can be short sighted about a patient’s full medical history and the only information they work from is the information they get from examining you. You may sign a release to get medical records from another doctor, but were those records actually read by your doctor?

What to Do When You Have Been Misdiagnosed

Contact The Law Offices of W.T. Johnson for your medical misdiagnosis claim immediately. We are attorneys skilled in medical malpractice misdiagnosis and late diagnosis. Medical bills and other costs pile up quickly. However, before a lawsuit can be filed pertaining to malpractice or misdiagnosis a preliminary finding of negligence on the doctor or hospital’s behalf is required — so don’t delay.

Life is precious. Every second. Don’t waste precious seconds.