Medical malpractice can have a devastating impact. Two of the most common–and potentially most dangerous–types of medical negligence are surgical errors and failure to diagnose medical conditions. Unfortunately, both are more common than you may want to believe.
Surgical Error is a “Never Event”
Surgical errors fall into a category of medical incidents described as “never events.” They’re called that because they are events that should never happen and theoretically cannot happen if proper procedures are followed. These include surgical procedures on the wrong body part, performance of the wrong surgical procedure, or performing surgery on the wrong patient.
Surgical error is relatively rare on a percentage basis. One study concluded that these types of surgical errors occur in just one in 112,000 surgical procedures. However, with more than 50 million surgeries performed in the United States each year, that means hundreds of serious surgical errors.
Other types of surgical errors include infections due to poor sanitation procedures, cutting or nicking an organ or nerve, leaving a sponge or other object inside the patient’s body and anaesthesia errors.
If you or a loved one has been affected by a surgical error, you should speak with a Salt Lake City medical malpractice attorney right away. You may be entitled to compensation for increased medical expenses, pain and suffering and other damages.
Failure to Diagnose Can Be Fatal
While surgical errors are more shocking to hear about, failure to diagnose and misdiagnosis are actually bigger issues in the medical field. First, misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose are much more common. Studies suggest that nearly 800,000 people are seriously harmed by failure to properly diagnose their conditions each year.
Note that number includes only those who either died as a result of misdiagnosis or were seriously injured, and the misdiagnosis eventually came to light. That means the actual number of patients who receive no diagnosis or an incorrect diagnosis is likely much higher. A review of three separate studies concluded that more than 5% of patients receive a misdiagnosis each year.
If you got sicker or your condition worsened because of incorrect or delayed diagnosis, you should talk with a misdiagnosis lawyer in Salt Lake City right away. You may also be entitled to compensation if you lost a close family member to failure to properly diagnose a medical condition.
How Does Misdiagnosis Happen?
Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose can happen in many ways, including:
- A physician failing to run appropriate tests
- Tests being misread or slipping through the cracks and either not being read or results not being conveyed to the patient
- Laboratory errors
- A physician not collecting adequate patient history or reviewing records
Healthcare safety non-profit ECRI estimated that about 70% of those errors occur at some point in the testing process, from failure to order testing to processing errors to failure to communicate results and next steps to patients.
Sometimes, a failure to diagnose comes to light as the patient’s symptoms worsen. In other cases, a proper diagnosis may not be determined until after the patient has died.
How Does Misdiagnosis Harm Salt Lake City Patients?
With many types of medical conditions, quick treatment can mean the difference between life and death. You’ve undoubtedly heard someone say “fortunately, we caught it early” about a medical condition such as cancer or heart disease–catching the condition early means an opportunity to intervene before the condition worsens.
For example, most types of cancers are more easily treated when they are isolated to a single location and a single organ. Over time, cancer can metastasize, meaning that cancer cells break loose and travel to other parts of the body, where new tumors form. Once cancer reaches the metastatic phase, survival rates are generally considerably lower.
When is Misdiagnosis Medical Malpractice?
The simple fact that you were initially misdiagnosed doesn’t necessarily mean that you have a medical malpractice claim. In Utah, medical malpractice occurs when the doctor, facility, or other medical provider fails to live up to the accepted standard of care. In other words, if the doctor did what they were supposed to do–ran the right tests, promptly and properly assessed the results, provided you accurate and timely information and took reasonable action based on the information available–they may not have committed malpractice.
What to Do If You Suspect Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose
If your condition hasn’t been diagnosed or the prescribed treatment isn’t having the expected impact and your condition is not improving or worsening, you should consider seeking a second opinion. Because delayed diagnosis can be so dangerous, you can’t afford to wait and see.
If you have ultimately been properly diagnosed but your doctor initially made a mistake in diagnosing you or simply let too much time pass while your condition worsened, you should generally also seek alternative medical care. Your faith in your physician may be shaken after a misdiagnosis, and that in itself is good reason to seek out a new doctor. But, it’s not the only one. The medical facility that misdiagnosed you has an incentive to protect themselves as they recommend treatment and keep records.
Get Help With Your Misdiagnosis Medical Malpractice Claim
You should speak with an experienced medical misdiagnosis lawyer as soon as possible after you realize that there has been a problem with your care. Medical malpractice claims are among the most complicated types of civil claims, and the earlier you have assistance, the better.
Before you can file a medical malpractice lawsuit in Utah, you must provide 90 days advance notice to the defendant or defendants. Then, a pre-litigation panel will review your claim to determine whether it may move forward. That means you’ll need to have a well-constructed case from the very beginning. Legislation that took effect this year also creates new hurdles for victims of medical malpractice.
The Salt Lake City medical malpractice lawyers at Allred, Vogt & Stuart have the knowledge and experience necessary to guide you through this complex process. You can schedule a free consultation right now by calling 801-876-7771 or filling out our contact form.
