Misdiagnosis Means Mistreatment
by Neil S. Siskind, Esq.
I was recently admitted to an emergency room with foot pain and tingling. The emergency room doctor ordered x-rays. After his review of the x-rays he advised me that I had degenerative discs in my neck which are the likely causes of my symptoms. I took the x-rays to my friend, a Physical Therapist, who scoffed. He said that my x-rays were fine and the doctor was wrong. Turned out that he, my friend, was right. So I saw another doctor who diagnosed and resolved my issue. By the way, that emergency room doctor gave me a pain medication prescription based on his misdiagnosis. By the time I left that doctor’s care I thought I had a problem I did not have, still had the problem I originally had, and was taking drugs I did not need. Pretty scary.
In more serious cases, a misdiagnosis can be deadly. Even in luckier cases where the proper diagnosis is eventually realized, there will be a slowdown on the road to recovery since proper treatment can not even begin without a proper diagnosis. The majority of malpractice cases involve the misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose a disease. There are four main elements that will improve your likelihood of getting a proper diagnosis: (i) find an experienced doctor whom you believe will provide a competent and thorough examination based on the symptoms he is hearing and who is able to properly interpret the results of any tests, (ii) ensure that your doctor is giving you time to explain your symptoms adequately and that he is being responsive and thoughtful, (iii) use a medical office or medical facility with the medical equipment necessary to thoroughly review your case, and (iv) get a second (or even third) opinion from doctors whom you trust and can rely on based on objectively sufficient medical credentials. When these elements are combined properly, it could determine the difference between life and death.
Knowledge and Experience:
First, a doctor needs to have the requisite education and clinical experience to decide which tests to order and whether to order them at all when working towards a diagnosis. If you fail to take the time to find a doctor whose opinion can be relied upon, you begin your search for a resolution to your issue with a severe handicap. Check into your doctor’s credentials and reputation before you put your life in his hands. Even after doing some homework you still may not know who your doctor really is and he may not do a great job. But as thinking people, we must exercise some judgment in these matters vs. throwing caution to the wind. Though convenience in terms of location is an important matter in your decisions to use any service, your choice of a doctor needs far more consideration then which doctor is the closest to your house. The first step towards getting the right diagnosis is getting the right doctor.
The quality of care in greater populated areas has a tendency to be more sophisticated than in lesser populated areas. The best doctors from the best medical schools with the most acclaim are more likely to be in Boston, Massachusetts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and New York, New York than in Minnetonka, Minnesota or Cape Coral, Florida. To be sure, doctors can be good for different reasons, including the time they spend with and concern they have for patients. But when it comes to a major condition, you want to be exposed to the more highly educated doctors in the larger facilities with the highest acclaim and medical resources. That’s my feeling anyway. Of course there will be exceptions where a renowned doctor is in a more remote area.
Listening and Responding:
You want to ensure that your doctor is taking the time and giving the focus to your symptoms and complaints. An otherwise excellent doctor who isn’t giving you his full attention or putting thought into your problem is of little use. Once the doctor gets results from any tests you took and provides a diagnosis, ask him what he saw in those tests that is driving his conclusion. Ask your doctor what his experience with this type of illness or condition is. Ask if he interpreted these results himself or whether he is going on the opinion of the lab technician. Mistakes happen in labs. Moreover, the lab technician may not be someone whose final judgment will suffice for you. Certainly, if you do not know this person, it should never suffice.
Most importantly perhaps, under the model of today’s medical system, short of a malpractice claim, doctors have little incentive, other than moral ones, to spend enormous amounts of time on a diagnosis. They are paid to dispense drugs, order tests and perform services such as surgery. If you “feel” like you were rushed out the door or that you were not heard or responded to in a comprehensible manner, then you need to see another doctor. While I do not believe that doctors don’t care about getting a diagnosis right and healing patients, some level of human nature comes into the mix, and without incentives to get it right and with incentives to perform surgeries and prescribe medicine, doctors are themselves handcuffed by having to make livings. That is part of the reality of our system. That is also where the societal value of the malpractice lawyer becomes indispensable.
Adequate Equipment and Related Resources:
The resources available to a doctor can also determine whether a proper diagnosis is reached. Doctors in small hospitals and in rural areas may lack the diagnostic tools needed to test patients using the most modern methods. Advanced equipment, and even up-to-date equipment, is not available everywhere. A big city hospital can provide more testing options than that one in a small town. Also, it is helpful when a doctor has an abundance of competent colleagues with whom to discuss issues.
In addition to any equipment and academic limitations, doctors may be handicapped by insurance companies. Just because a doctor wants a test to be run does not always mean an insurance company will pay for it. So if a doctor is being very cautious and willing to look at several possibilities, the patient has to have the financial ability to pay for the tests. Often this means insurance, and that can mean a fight.
A Second, and Third, Opinion:
Finally, the second or third opinion is crucial to a diagnosis. Backup opinions should come from doctors in different facilities than that of the doctor who gave the first opinion. Also, they should come from doctors of different specialties. For instance, if a surgeon recommends surgery, see another surgeon. But also see a Physical Therapist. In the case of an illness, after the diagnosis, see another doctor that works in this specialty, but also see a doctor who handles other medical areas that have a possibility of causing the symptoms- just to be sure. If you have a good insurance plan, it will cost you about $25 in the form of a co-pay to get another opinion. Isn’t that worth it? Just make sure that each doctor you see has the necessary credentials and reputation to handle your kind of issue. You must do your homework before you take medical advice.
The first step in getting better is getting a proper diagnosis of your medical condition. If you get that right, your chances greatly improve. If you get that wrong, you could get into trouble. The right doctor with access to the best resources and a second or third opinion together give you the best shot of receiving a proper diagnosis. The right diagnosis is the key to a possible resolution or cure. If this part goes wrong, short of the body healing itself, which often happens, you are fighting an uphill, and perhaps un-winnable battle.
If you have been given a misdiagnosis that has lead to an enhanced illness or unnecessary treatment that has harmed you, contact The Siskind Law Firm today to learn about the compensation to which you may be entitled.
