The placenta is a structure that grows in a woman’s uterus when she is pregnant. It is attached to the uterine wall and delivers nutrients and oxygen to the growing baby through the […]
A correct diagnosis can mean the difference between life and death. Yet every year, thousands of patients are harmed by delayed or incorrect diagnoses—many of them preventable. A medical misdiagnosis isn’t just a mistake; it can alter the course of someone’s life permanently.
In this post, we explore real-world examples of medical misdiagnosis, what went wrong, how lives were impacted, and what patients and families can do if they suspect a similar failure in their care.
Diagnostic errors contribute to an estimated 250,000 deaths per year in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. These errors often involve:
The most commonly misdiagnosed conditions include cancer, stroke, infections, and heart disease.
A 29-year-old woman visited the ER with slurred speech and dizziness. She was diagnosed with a migraine and discharged. No CT scan was ordered. Hours later, she suffered a major stroke and lost mobility in her left side. A timely scan could have saved her full function.
Legal Impact: The hospital settled a malpractice case due to failure to follow standard stroke protocols.
➡️ Emergency Room Errors and Patient Harm
A woman received a "clear" mammogram, but a small mass was missed. Two years later, she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. A correct reading would have likely caught the cancer at stage 1.
Legal Impact: The radiologist was found liable for failure to identify a visible abnormality.
A toddler with fever, vomiting, and lethargy was medically misdiagnosed with a stomach virus. No labs or observations were ordered. The child was later hospitalized with meningitis and now lives with cognitive delays and hearing loss.
Legal Impact: Parents sued the urgent care clinic for failure to escalate care. The settlement helped fund the child’s long-term support.
➡️ Understanding Medical Malpractice Lawsuits in Birth Injury Cases
A 50-year-old man went to the ER with chest pain. He was told it was a panic attack. Hours later, he went into cardiac arrest. Timely diagnosis and treatment could have saved his heart function.
Legal Impact: Providers failed to rule out cardiac issues, violating standard ER protocol.
A pregnant woman’s severe abdominal pain was dismissed as normal discomfort. Her appendix later ruptured, causing infection and premature labor. Both mother and baby survived, but with complications.
Legal Impact: A claim was filed for failure to perform necessary imaging or consider appendicitis in differential diagnosis.
Not every diagnostic error is malpractice. But it may qualify if:
➡️ What Constitutes Medical Malpractice in the Eyes of the Law
This episode expands on these stories and explains what they mean for patients and families navigating unclear diagnoses.
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If you believe you or a loved one was harmed by a delayed or incorrect diagnosis, you may have a legal case. Statutes of limitations vary, so don’t wait.
Note: The information that was utilized in this post was gathered from the use of secondary sources. This information used has not been confirmed or independently verified. If you locate any information that is not correct, please contact our firm as soon as possible so that we can make the appropriate corrections. If you find any information that is false, we will remove or correct the post immediately after it is brought to our attention.
Disclaimer: As a valued member of the Dallas community, Rasansky Law Firm’s goal is to improve the safety of all residents in the great state of Texas. These posts should not be viewed as a solicitation for business and the information included herein should not be taken as medical or legal advice. The photos used in this post are not representative of the actual crash scene.
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