Most people trust the medical professionals who treat them. But if you’re reading this post, then you probably know that doctors and nurses make harmful mistakes. But the sad reality is that the frequency with which these errors occur is astounding.
According to one study, as many as 12 million Americans are impacted by diagnostic errors each year. This results in as many as 80,000 people dying from misdiagnoses or missed diagnoses every year.
What causes misdiagnosis and wrong diagnosis?
There can be a lot of contributing factors to these diagnostic errors. Let’s take a quick look at some of them:
- Inadequate testing, which may be attributable to insurance constraints, doctor inexperience, or a doctor’s overconfidence.
- Improperly reading test results, again either because of inexperience or overconfidence.
- Lack of follow-up with patients to see how their conditions are progressing or changing.
- Lack of time with patients, since the mere 10 to 15 minutes that most doctors spend with each patient is insufficient to get a clear sense of what is going on with the patient.
- A lack of cohesive care, where you see multiple medical professionals for various issues, thereby giving no doctor a complete picture of your medical condition.
Don’t let our healthcare providers get away with what they’ve done to you
If you’ve been harmed by a medical error, then you’ve got a lot on your plate as you try to recover your health and get back to some semblance of a normal life. We know that the thought of taking legal action against a negligent medical professional and his employer can be daunting, but don’t let your fear paralyze you into inaction.
Instead, try to utilize it as motivation to find accountability and recover the compensation that you need and deserve. An experienced medical malpractice attorney may be able to help you do just that.