Health Conditions That Are Commonly Misdiagnosed
When an individual perceived a pain or unease within his inside, it would take no second to decide to see a doctor to check his well-being. Doctors are patients’ most trusted individual where they invested their fortunes to their skills and knowledge for their longetivity and health, where they are expert in examining each symptoms either exhibited or narrated by their patient to them and give a conclusive statement about their current and future condition decided from the examination being conducted, this is followed by treatment and medication as well devised by the doctor or medical practitioner with their application of their studies. But sometimes, even after their years of experience gathered, misdiagnoses still occur.
In fact, in the United States, 12 million people are affected by medical diagnostic errors each year. An estimated 40,000 to 80,000 Americans die annually from complications of these misdiagnoses and women and minorities are at a 20-30% higher risk for this outcome according to Health Line. Misdiagnoses root from multiple cause and these causes are simply complex, one of these many reason is indication, description and symptoms shown by a condition.
These health conditions listed are the ones that are most commonly misdiagnosed according to AARP:
- Lupus mimics chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, and rheumatoid arthritis. One of the most common symptoms is extreme joint pain that causes aching in both your hands or feet having any contact with pressure on it. This can make day to day tasks difficult such as opening jars due to stiffness all over their body including limbs and neck muscles which often cannot be relieved by stretching.
- Due to the lack of lab tests, Parkinson’s Disease is typically diagnosed by a clinical examination. However there are many symptoms that can be seen which may help in diagnosing this disease. When you see someone who has tremors and difficulty with walking or initiating movements they could have Parkinson’s Disease because these features often mimic Alzheimer’s, stroke, stress and traumatic head injury.
- Fibromyalgia is a complex condition and often mistaken for arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome or other diseases because of lack of diagnostic lab tests. There are two symptoms which either the patient reports: (1) pain lasting more than three months; (2) tenderness of muscles of limbs.
- Multiple sclerosis is a disease which symptoms are frequent muscle spasms and nervous system disorganization that disrupts human common function such as reasoning, motor skills and blurring of vision. Similar to viral infection, lupus, Alzheimer’s, bipolar disorder.
Researches found out that the cases of reported misdiagnoses has failed to cease in the past years despite given the current medical technology in the present that it had resulted in making Diagnostic errors as the most common claims being filed in the medical malpractice lawsuits in the past 25 years and has yielded $39 billion of total amount being compensated to its victims. These are the most common causes of medical misdiagnoses according to studies:
- Lacking Diagnostic testing is a part of the reason why many illnesses are misdiagnosed. A lack in diagnostic knowledge leads to this issue and can be remedied by mastering more about different ailments, which would give doctors better insight into what could be wrong with their patients and possible treatment and respond would be missing without proper diagnosis.
- Diagnosis is often missed because physicians don’t have enough time with their patients. Doctors are under so much pressure that they cannot afford to spend as long in the exam room, and this can lead them to miss some diagnoses or not be able to ask all of the necessary questions about a patient’s symptoms.
- Bad workflow chart and disorganization of staff and nurses may cause misdiagnosis and maltreatment. As such it’s common that they don’t have as clear idea about what other nurses might be doing right now; this lackadaisical view on the part of each individual nurse can lead to mistakes being made or delays occurring – both things that may disrupt healing efforts and prolong hospital stays unnecessarily.
What Can a Victim of Misdiagnosis do?
Medical malpractice is a serious issue that deserves attention because it can have long-term consequences. As such, you may be entitled to compensation if something goes wrong during treatment or surgery and the negligence of your doctor led to injury or death in some cases. An attorney will help fight for settlements and lawsuits to cover your possible extended expenditure including lost wages, medical bills, ongoing healthcare costs as well as punitive damages depending on the case details.
Ryan Injury Lawyers is a injury lawfirm that specializes in medical malpractice claims litigaion. They have been on the forefront of filing cases for those who need their help and providing them with assistance through civil litigation. Their 40 years worth of experience has given them insights into what it takes to be successful when seeking justice against an individual or company whose actions may lead to injuries, leading many people across Cleveland turn towards Ryan as they search for reputable representation within this line-of-work
Ryan Injury Lawyers provides clients with guidance throughout all stages from initial case file preparation up until trial where you are able to see your lawyer’s expertise firsthand, they are proven to be competent and dependable lawyers who work with transparency. Call our office now for free legal consultation.