If you were told that the biggest risk to your health isn’t your diet or lack of exercise but a medical mistake, would you believe it?
You should. Roughly 100,000 people end up permanently disabled or dead because a doctor either overlooked or misdiagnosed their condition.
Research says 3 conditions misdiagnosed more than any others
If you walk into a hospital or a doctor’s office, you rely on the physician’s knowledge and training to recognize your symptoms, make a correct diagnosis and start treatment. But the odds that will happen go down dramatically if you happen to have any of the following conditions:
- Infections
- Vascular events (such as a stroke)
- Cancer
According to Johns Hopkins University in Maryland, those three conditions account for 75% of all misdiagnoses that actually cause harm to patients.
Why are these three conditions so dangerous for patients if they’re misdiagnosed? Mainly, time is of the essence. Every hour that an infection goes untreated gives it more time to take hold. If you’re having a stroke, the medication that can save your life needs to be administered within hours. A delay in treatment for cancer gives those malignant cells time to multiply and spread.
What can you do if you were a victim of a doctor’s mistake?
When a doctor fails to order the appropriate tests, dismisses someone’s symptoms as nothing more than “anxiety” or otherwise violates the physicians’ duty of care, patients suffer. If you or your loved one have had the trajectory of your life altered because of a medical mistake, you need to learn more about your right to hold the negligent parties liable.
