Bad Diagnosis Equals Bad Medical Care

We have all been fortunate to experience major advances in medical treatment over the past several decades. Less invasive surgeries permit more rapid recoveries and drugs have advanced to the point where they are curing diseases that used to be fatal.

But if he diagnosis is incorrect it’s all for naught, as treatments don’t work if they are pointed at the wrong problem.

For a patient in Michigan, what started as a swollen eye and a diagnosis of allergies advanced to a severe set of symptoms and surgery after further analysis revealed a serious frontal sinus condition.
“The plaintiff in this case went to the hospital to see a doctor about her swollen left eye and the increasing sense of pressure she felt on the left side of her head. At her first visit to the hospital, she told the doctor that she did not have allergies.

After the doctor examined her, she was diagnosed with angioedema and sent home with a prescription for Dexamethasone, a synthetic corticosteroid used to reduce inflammation in many conditions, including allergies that do not respond to other drugs. Two days later, she returned to the hospital, and the same doctor noted that her condition was getting worse. Still diagnosing allergies, the doctor prescribed Benadryl and once again sent the plaintiff home.

Later, she was found by her family lying on the floor, dazed, confused and unable to speak coherently. She was taken to another hospital where doctors discovered an undiagnosed frontal sinus condition that, left untreated, had moved into an inter-cranial space. She needed immediate surgery and prolonged care to battle the infection.

The medical malpractice lawsuit she filed alleged that the doctor that diagnosed her condition as allergies was negligent. This and many other cases demonstrate the importance of an accurate diagnosis, and what can happen with a misdiagnosis.

If you or a loved one has suffered pain, illness, or injury due to an inaccurate diagnosis, you should know that you have legal rights. MalpracticeAttorneys.com is the leading online source for information about malpractice, and our service is free to victims. If you want to contact an attorney anywhere in the U.S. who is a malpractice expert, you can register on our site.