Primary Care Malpractice Lawsuits Often Involve Misdiagnosis, Drug Mistakes
The lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. investigate and pursue potential medical malpractice lawsuits, for individuals who suffer an injury after a doctor or healthcare provider fails to follow the accepted standards of medical care. A recent study highlights how most malpractice cases brought against primary care physicians involve a misdiagnosis or medication mistake.
According to a study published recently in the British Medical Journal (BMJ), a review of 34 different studies in the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and France found that medical misdiagnosis accounted for between 26% and 63% of all malpractice cases, with second most common reason for primary care malpractice cases being prescription mistakes.
The study follows a similar report earlier this year published in JAMA Internal Medicine and conducted by researchers from the Houston Veteran Affairs Medical Center. Researchers in that report found that misdiagnosis during primary care treatment often leads to moderate to severe harm for patients.
They found that the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions were some of the most serious, including pneumonia, congestive heart failure, acute kidney failure, cancer and urinary tract infections, in that order.
The most frequent cause of misdiagnosis in the Houston VA study was a mistake during the patient-practitioner clinical encounter, which accounted for 79% of medical misdiagnosis incidents. Those mistakes happened when errors were made when taking the patient’s medical history, during the examination or when ordering diagnostic tests. The next most common causes for misdiagnosis were referral mistakes.
A study in May by researchers from Johns Hopkins found that misdiagnosis lawsuits account for 35% of malpractice payments. That study was published in the BMJ’s Quality and Safety journal.
They found that the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions were some of the most serious, including pneumonia, congestive heart failure, acute kidney failure, cancer and urinary tract infections, in that order.
The most frequent cause of misdiagnosis was a mistake during the patient-practitioner clinical encounter, which accounted for 79% of medical misdiagnosis incidents. Those mistakes happened when errors were made when taking the patient’s medical history, during the examination or when ordering diagnostic tests. The next most common causes for misdiagnosis were referral mistakes.
Review a Malpractice Case for Primary Care Misdiagnosis or Medical Mistakes
Our malpractice lawyers at Saiontz & Kirk, P.A. provide free consultations and claim evaluations for individuals throughout the United States who believe that a serious injury suffered by themselves or a family member may have been caused by a mistake made by a primary care physician or other medical provider.
All cases are evaluated under a contingency fee agreement, which means that there are never any out pocket expenses to hire our law firm and we receive no fees or expenses unless we secure a recovery in the case.
To review a potential claim for yourself, a friend or family member, request a free consultation and claim evaluation.
1 Comment • Add Your Comments
Shane says:
I currently have symptoms that make me believe I could be diabetic, or have another condition. I am not insured through ppo or other methods, so must go to a free type clinic. Any true tests beyond beyond blood work, must be referred which is not too often. I\’ve suffered from nerve pain, low circulation in lower extremeties, dizziness and irritability when going with out nourishment. And extreme gastrointestinal issues, plus frequent urination at an extreme level. I been prescribed many medications, provided by this clinic, to address each individual issue. And nothing has changed, in fact they have become worse. Due to my limited access to medical evaluations, and the average physicians\’ response to medicate rather than investigate, I feel this at least gross negligence on their part.
Posted on September 21, 2013 at 3:55 pm