Medical Misdiagnosis
When doctors and other medical care providers take care of patients, they have a duty to use a reasonable standard of care when making decisions about diagnosis and treatment. When this standard of care is followed, serious medical conditions can be caught before they progress and become fatal. When the duty to follow this standard of care is breached, serious conditions can go undiagnosed and lead to consequences such as stroke, heart attack, or even death. When this happens, victims deserve compensation for their medical expenses, loss of wages, and pain and suffering. If you were misdiagnosed by a medical care provider, contact a personal injury attorney immediately for assistance in filing a legal claim.
Negligence can lead to medical misdiagnosis on the part of doctors, physician assistants, and nurse practitioners. Some examples of negligence that contribute to medical misdiagnosis include incorrectly interpreting the results of diagnostic tests and failure to order appropriate laboratory or diagnostic testing. One of the reasons that misdiagnosis is so dangerous is that it can delay necessary treatment for serious illnesses. For example, if cancer is misdiagnosed, there will be delay in getting the chemotherapy or radiation that is needed to eradicate the cancer and improve the patient's health. Another reason that misdiagnosis is serious is because the treatment for the misdiagnosed condition can be harmful to the patient. If someone is misdiagnosed with cancer, for example, they could be given high doses of chemotherapy. Since chemotherapy can destroy healthy cells along with cancer cells, this can wreak havoc on a healthy person's body.
While any serious medical condition can be misdiagnosed, there are some conditions that are more commonly misdiagnosed than others. Several forms of cancer that are commonly misdiagnosed include breast cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, and testicular cancer. Strokes and heart attacks can also be diagnosed if a patient is not being cared for properly. Other examples of medical conditions that are commonly misdiagnosed include tuberculosis, diabetes, pulmonary embolism (blood clot in the lung), appendicitis, and bacterial meningitis.
Many people think that misdiagnosis of a condition is immediate grounds for a personal injury suit. However, doctors are not expected to diagnose every condition as soon as it begins because many conditions are asymptomatic until they are advanced or the symptoms of those conditions may be similar to the symptoms of less serious conditions. Negligence has only occurred if another reasonable doctor with similar training would have diagnosed the condition using the information available. If another doctor would have diagnosed your condition based on the results of tests or a physical examination, then you may be able to file a claim for medical misdiagnosis.
We understand that dealing with a medical misdiagnosis can be difficult physically and emotionally. At Napoli Bern Ripka LLP, we can work with you to determine the best course of action to pursue in handling your medical misdiagnosis case. Our attorneys and staff members will work with you at every step of your case to ensure that you understand what is happening and how it can affect the outcome of your claim.
Cases and Settlements of Note
Medical Malpractice Lawsuits & Settlements
- Badolato v. Rosenberg. The Second Department affirmed the trial court’s denial of summary judgment to chiropractor, holding that a physician retained to perform a physical examination for Workers Compensation or Disability purposes can be held liable for medical malpractice where the physician affirmatively interferes with the patient’s treatment to his detriment.
- Selva v. Lillie. The court affirmed a denial of summary judgment to general practitioner who claimed that her failure to refer a patient suffering neurological disorder that rendered him quadriplegic for specialist consult was not a departure from good medical practice because she did not have the neurological expertise to recognize that the patient was suffering from a systemic neurological disorder rather than a herniated lumbar disc.
- Graham v. Mitchell. The appellate court reversed the trial court’s order granting summary judgment on a catastrophically brain-damaged infant claim and reinstated the plaintiffs’ complaint.
- Raciti v. Sands Point Nursing Home, et al., 54 A.D.3d 1014 (2d Dept’ 2008), reversing dismissal of plaintiff’s complaint by the trial court which abused its discretion in refusing to consider plaintiffs’ opposition and cross motion, delivered late to court due to interruption of transit service in a torrential rainstorm.
- Buckley v. Charles K. Goldner, LLC, Abranham Colton. The firm represented Buckley who was a guest in the building, who leaned against an elevator door, believing it to lead to laundry facilities. The elevator door swung open from below, and Buckley fell down the shaft, breaking part of his spine, tearing his urethra, and dislocating his shoulder. The Verdict of $1.9M was awarded in May 2010.
- Jermaine Rhoden v. NYC Transit Authority et al. The firm represented Rhoden who was bicycling on White Plains Road when he attempted to pass between a parked vehicle and a public bus. Rhoden became wedged between the bus and vehicle, and injured his knee, which required knee surgery to fix. A verdict of $550,000 was awarded in September 2009.
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