In 2011, Oriana Sousa, a Portuguese psychologist who is now 28 year-old was diagnosed with a rare form of ovarian cancer. When the symptoms started doctors initially failed to diagnose the cancer. For several months Oriana suffered from frequent constipation and fatigue. She was also thirsty all the time. Then…
Articles Posted in Delay to Treat or Failure to Diagnose a Medical Condition
Misdiagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in black Americans may be common medical malpractice
Medical Malpractice may have been committed on many American Africans who were previously diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A recent study found that some genetic variations that were linked to this condition were indeed harmless. These specific genetic variations were found more often in black Americans than in white Americans. Therefore many patients from…
Failure to Diagnose Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms
Failure to diagnose alcohol withdrawal symptom (AWS) can be medical malpractice that may cause severe injury or even death in some cases. The ECRI Institute is looking at options to better “Identify Alcohol Withdrawal Symptoms Early and Ease Patients’ Care”. An estimated 20 % of the patients that are admitted in US hospitals show…
A faster and easier diagnosis of bacterial infections in newborns with fever
Failure to diagnose or delay to treat a bacterial infection in a newborn can be medical malpractice. Doctors (and also parents) may sometimes be reluctant to submit a young infant to a lengthy and complicated process in order to find out if a fever may be caused by a bacterial infection. Thanks to new research this…
How to treat and diagnose desmoids tumors?
Although very rare, failure to diagnose and treat desmoids tumors, also called aggressive fibromatosis, a tumor that develops in the fibrous tissue that forms tendons and ligaments, can be medical malpractice. Desmoids tumors are very rare and difficult to diagnose and doctors are still debating what is the most appropriate categorization and…
Proper diagnosis of Denys-Drash syndrome
renal mass in a 3 year olds child Failure to timely diagnose Denys-Drash syndrome can be medical malpractice that can lead to renal failure and ultimately death. Denys-Drash syndrom is a very rare congenital disorder that affects young children. There are only 150 known cases in the world therefore very little…
Failure to diagnose trigeminal neuralgia can be medical malpractice that can cause extreme pain to a patient
Facial nerves, Source: Wikipedia Failure to diagnose a rare disease called trigeminal neuralgia (TN) can be medical malpractice. The disorder can cause pain so extreme to a patient that it has been nicknamed “the suicide disease”. In a recent article in the Washington Post, Sandra G. Boodman describes the story of…
Can a patient be a victim of recurrent medical malpractice?
Multiple cases of medical malpractice committed by several doctors including 3 neurosurgeons almost killed a patient according to a recent article written by Sandra Boodman in the Washington Post. Brad Chesivior from Maryland almost died after several doctors failed to diagnose a brain bleed. When a neurosurgeon finally made the proper…
Would fatal medical malpractice cases be diminished if hospitals were required to perform autopsies again?
Among the various types of medical malpractice suffered by hospital patients, misdiagnosis accounts for approximately 10% of patient deaths. In a recent Opinion Page from the New York Times, Sandeep Jauhar, a Long Island cardiologist, wants to Bring Back the Autopsy as a weapon to fight misdiagnosis. With the evolution of…
Failure to diagnose Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) can be medical malpractice that can cause kidney failure, arthritis and in the worst case amyloidosis
In a recent article, Sandra G. Boodman from the Washington Post writes about the case of a man whose doctors failed to diagnose Familial Mediterranean Fever (FMF) for months until he consulted with a well traveled gastroenterologist who suspected FMF. FMF is a disorder caused by a gene mutation. this disorder is…