Few things are as daunting as facing cancer, and placing your trust in a physician to act in your best interest is crucial. But when a misdiagnosis occurs, it can turn an already challenging situation into a terrifying ordeal. That’s where Massa Butler Giglion & Dirlam come in.
With their extensive experience in medical malpractice cases, compassionate approach, and relentless pursuit of justice, they are dedicated to ensuring that you receive the support and compensation you deserve. Their expertise and commitment to their clients make them the ideal choice to stand by your side during these difficult times.
In July of 2023, Johns Hopkins Medicine published a post based on the study performed by BMJ Quality & Safety, an international peer-reviewed journal covering the science of improvement across healthcare service and provision. The Johns Hopkins post discusses the significant impact of diagnostic errors, including cancer misdiagnoses, on public health.
This information highlights the significant public health impact of diagnostic errors in the U.S. Key findings include:
- Annual Impact: An estimated 795,000 Americans suffer serious harms from diagnostic errors each year, including permanent disabilities and deaths.
- Misdiagnosed Cancers: 37.8% of these serious harms are due to undiagnosed or misdiagnosed cancers.
- Major Causes: The “Big Three” conditions—vascular events, infections, and cancers—account for 75% of these serious harms.
- Methodology: Researchers used novel methods to derive a national estimate, leveraging disease-specific error and harm rates.
- Public Health Imperative: Improving diagnosis across healthcare settings is crucial for reducing these harms.
The study shows that approximately 300,000 cancer cases are misdiagnosed each year. The study emphasizes the need for systematic solutions to address diagnostic errors and reduce preventable harm.
If you suspect negligence on the part of your care provider made you a part of this statistic, you may have a case for medical malpractice.
Proving negligence
Successfully mounting a suit requires you to prove several components:
- Relationship: You generally need to show a professional relationship with your care provider. You hired them, and they agreed to see you.
- Negligence: You’ll likely need to bring evidence that your acting physician didn’t live up to a reasonable standard that most any competent doctor would have maintained while treating you.
- Harm: You may have a case if the physician’s negligence was likely the cause of your injury, and that injury could have caused your suffering. Damages can count for things like physical pain from the ongoing sickness or additional bills from your worsened condition.
Missing the mark
You can reasonably expect medical professionals to live up to an acceptable standard of care. There is a range of ways that they may fail to live up to the benchmark required of them:
- Didn’t recognize early warning signs
- Weren’t as thorough as necessary in examination
- Failed to send for appropriate cancer screening
- Neglected to read lab or test results properly
- Overlooked your medical history
Make sure you understand what constitutes medical malpractice. Being able to identify where you’ve been let down can go a long way to leaving your fears of a failed recovery behind.