The Tragedy of Misdiagnosis: Lost Chances and Lost Lives

Little Rock Medical Malpractice Lawyer Serving All of Arkansas

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In just the last couple of decades, there have been dramatic improvements in methods of treating cancer and diagnosing cancer.  While cancer misdiagnosis cases are particularly tragic, our team has been handling more and more misdiagnosis cases involving not only cancer but other diseases.

Diseases like meningitis, and injuries like bleeding in the brain from an accident or a stroke, can now be diagnosed and cured with speed and precision that could not have been imagined even a few years ago.

But only if the proper tests are ordered, and only if the doctors ordering the tests actually read and pay attention to the results.

Cases we are handling right now:

Lung cancer diagnosed on CT scan but patient not told about cancer for another year, and dies of cancer that could have been cured

Patient develops pneumonia in the hospital—apparent on CT scans and in blood and tissue tests, but patient released without treatment and dies

Two year old taken to hospital and doctor many times before meningitis finally diagnosed—too late to prevent loss of hearing.

 

Over the years we have handled many other misdiagnosis cases.   They are all heartbreaking.  These are fathers and mothers, daughters and sons, who have died or were seriously injured when the correct diagnosis would have made a cure easy.   Lost chances and lost lives—all because medical professionals that were trusted didn’t pay attention.

People say that lawsuits can’t bring back people who die because of malpractice, but that is not the point.  When a doctor misses a diagnosis and kills his patient, the patient's family has suffered a loss that cannot be cured--but we must do what can be done for these families.  And without a doubt, medical malpractice misdiagnosis cases can save the next life, preserve the next child’s hearing, prevent the next horrible injury.  Standing up for your family and saying “this can’t happen again” is incredibly important.