You may not think that misdiagnosis is a common problem in the medical field.
Think again.
In the United States, at least 12 million people are impacted by medical diagnostic errors annually.
What’s more?
Women and minority populations are 20-30% more likely to be seriously impacted as a result of diagnosis errors.
Here are some of the other issues with misdiagnosis:
It Can Cause Serious Harm
As you know, if you do not address certain medical conditions right away, serious harm can result. If a physician’s misdiagnosis prompts the wrong treatment, deferred treatment, or no treatment at all, your ailment can get much worse, and you may even lose your life.
It Is the #1 Cause of Severe Medical Errors
According to a study conducted by John Hopkins Medicine, over 250,000 people die each year due to misdiagnosis in the United States.
Misdiagnosis of “The Big Three” Are Most Likely to Lead to Death
According to a study conducted by the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine, the following misdiagnoses tend to cause the most harm:
- Cancer
- Vascular events
- Infection
In fact, 74.1% of the diagnostic errors that cause the most harm are attributed to The Big Three. Deaths as a result of cancer misdiagnosis occur 37.8% of the time, vascular events misdiagnosis causes death 22.8% of the time, and infection misdiagnosis causes death 13.5% of the time.
Most Misdiagnoses Occur in Emergency Settings
The vast majority, 71.2%, of all diagnostic errors occur in emergency settings such as outpatient clinics or emergency departments.
If you’ve been harmed as a result of a physician’s diagnosis error, you may be entitled to compensation. Our attorneys have helped many other people in similar situations, and we may be able to help you, too.
Contact our experienced attorneys at Cherundolo Law Firm, PLLC today by calling (315) 544-3332 or by filling out our online contact form.
