Misdiagnosis

The Tragedy of Misdiagnosis and Late Diagnosis

When a disease is misdiagnosed the patient will not receive necessary treatment and may receive treatment for a disease the patient does not have. In a late diagnosis, the disease may have progressed to a point where it cannot be treated or where treatment causes more pain and expense than should have been necessary.

Medical Misdiagnosis Lawyers

Misdiagnosis can happen in emergency rooms, in doctors’ offices and in hospital labs. The  medical malpractice attorneys and nurse paralegals at Gray, Ritter & Graham in St. Louis regularly review medical records to determine whether a misdiagnosis or late diagnosis caused serious injury or wrongful death.

• Cancer misdiagnosis can cause the loss of valuable time in treatment of the disease. The failure to diagnose cancer – breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, ovarian cancer – can turn a treatable disease into a terminal disease.
• A baby may not receive life-saving treatment when a pediatrician fails to recognize certain symptoms and diagnose a congenital heart defect.
• The wrong diagnosis can subject the wrong patient to the wrong treatment. The doctor may take quick, affirmative action, but the action may be wrong for that patient.
• A doctor may fail to recognize diabetes in a teenager, fail to recognize that a rash is an allergic reaction to medication, or fail to order an echocardiogram when a patient has a heart defect.
• Chronic gastrointestinal conditions, heart attacks, and strokes are often misdiagnosed, and patients either get sent home or treated for the wrong medical condition.
• By not recognizing the symptoms and ordering the appropriate tests, doctors misdiagnose blood diseases such as ITP (idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura) or TTP (thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura).

Misdiagnosis can add complications and cause life-threatening problems

In the worst cases, misdiagnosis can allow a disease to go untreated and worsen, causing serious harm and even wrongful death. If you or a loved one is in this very unfortunate situation, let us help you.

It costs nothing to call and ask the medical negligence lawyers and nurse paralegals at GRG to review your case. Contact us as soon as possible so that we can preserve the evidence in the medical records and begin our investigation. We represent clients in Missouri, Illinois, Arkansas and the surrounding region.