Was my medical condition misdiagnosed by a Palm Beach doctor?

There are two ways a Florida doctor can misdiagnose an illness. The first is misdiagnosis: This is when your doctor thinks you have a different, and often less serious, condition than the one you actually have. If symptoms are similar, your doctor may mistake your condition for something else-meaning the treatment you receive for your misdiagnosed condition will likely be ineffective.

The second is failure to diagnose, which happens when your condition is completely overlooked. For example, doctors often fail to diagnose melanoma because they do not perform regular skin checks on their patients, or do not order biopsies on suspicious moles.

 What kinds of situations can lead to a medical misdiagnosis in Florida?

• You go to the doctor with a stomachache. Your doctor knows that a stomachache is a warning sign of a heart attack, but he would rather not order expensive tests. He tells you it’s probably just acid reflux and recommends antacids.
• You have a routine visit with your OB/GYN. She calls a few days later to tell you that your pap smear was abnormal, indicating cervical cancer. What she doesn’t realize is that the test results were switched in the lab, and that another patient is actually positive-but you’re the one scheduled for treatment.
• Your doctor orders an MRI following your appointment for migraines. He sees a cloudy mass in your skull, but it could easily be a shadow on the film, since a tumor is unlikely. He does not order any further testing, and does not call you to inform you of the scan results.

 A misdiagnosis may be an accident, but it can often have serious consequences. The key to overcoming a serious illness is catching the condition in its early stages. Often the only way to detect a life-threatening disease is with immediate and rigorous testing: blood tests, cancer screenings and PET scans, an x-ray, CT scan or MRI to detect tumors or masses-these procedures will very often end up saving a life.

Remember: a misdiagnosis is a mistake-and it’s also medical malpractice. An experienced Palm Beach personal injury lawyer familiar with these types of cases can tell you what to expect-and could help you win compensation in your case. Call Fetterman & Associates at (866) 865-1244 today for your free consultation.