Misdiagnosis & Medical Malpractice Claims By Floyd Arthur

Misdiagnosis & Medical Malpractice Claims By Floyd ArthurOn Dec. 21, 2015, Barbara Dawson, 57, went to the Emergency Department of Liberty Calhoun Hospital in Blountstown, Florida, complaining of difficulty breathing and abdominal pain. Doctors at the hospital assessed and treated Mrs. Dawson and then told her to go home. When she refused, still complaining that she could not breathe, hospital staff called the police to have her forcibly removed. Medical Malpractice ClaimsMrs. Dawson was handcuffed, arrested and escorted to a police car, where she subsequently collapsed. Eighteen minutes later she was readmitted to the Emergency Department, but by then it was too late. Mrs. Dawson was dead. Her husbands attorneys, aided by dashcam footage from the police car, have accused the hospital and its physicians of negligence and filed a medical malpractice claim for an undisclosed amount. In a similar case, on Dec. 11, 2015, a Ford County, Illinois jury awarded a record $950,000 to the family of 73 year-old David Buhs, who died following a transmural myocardial infarction on Oct. 12, 2008. Mr. Buhs was treated by his primary physician, David Hagan, M.D., of the Gibson City Clinic, and later admitted to the emergency department of a local hospital, where he was treated and released. He was later readmitted to the hospital and monitored for three days before being discharged on October 12. He returned to the hospital later that day, but was soon dead due to a ruptured left ventricular wall.According to the plaintiffs attorneys, neither Hagan, Gibson City Clinic nor the hospital performed the testing needed to detect the deadly infarct. The jury found Dr. Hagan and the clinic liable for damages but cleared the hospital and its physicians.Misdiagnosis: An Important Factor in Medical Malpractice ClaimsPreventable medical errors are the No. 3 cause of death in the United States, killing an estimated 400,000 Americans each year. Not all of these deaths are the result of physician negligence, nor do even a fraction result in medical malpractice claims. Nonetheless, the staggering number--the equivalent of two jumbo-jets crashing every day -- should give all physicians pause.In the outpatient setting, misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis is by far the most common cause of action in successfully litigated medical malpractice claims. According to a 2013 study led by Dr. David Newman-Toker, associate professor of neurology at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland, diagnostic errors accounted for 35 percent of total payouts (about $39 billion) in medical malpractice lawsuits between 1986 and 2010. The authors estimated that the actual number of diagnosis-related deaths and injuries could be as high as 160,000 per year.Can Physicians Avoid Diagnostic Errors and Medical Malpractice Claims?The challenges faced by physicians practicing in the American healthcare system today are far too numerous to enumerate here. Further, misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses are among the least studied of all medical errors, so there is little information about how they come about. Nevertheless, Newman-Toker says, We have to pay attention to this because it is too big of a problem to ignore."Doctor-patient communication in the primary care setting may be one important key to getting a diagnosis right. In the hustle-bustle of the office or clinic environment, many patients -- especially the elderly -- fail to provide their doctors with a thorough and accurate history of their illness, and important details get missed. Additionally, patients may be unwilling to ask questions if they believe the doctor's diagnosis is wrong. Even great doctors make mistakes, Newman-Toker explains. Patients need to be empowered to ask questions, communicate their concerns and participate in their care.Communication and follow-up is also key. In a case cited in the Journal of Patient Safety report, a group of cardiologists evaluated a 19 year-old athlete who experience syncope while running. After five days of exhaustive inpatient testing failed to reveal a diagnosis, the patient was discharged, but the group agreed he was not ready to start running again. Nonetheless, none of them warned the patient of their concerns. Three weeks later, while running, the patient died. There is no doubt that there is much wrong with the health care system in America, and physicians are suffering from a phenomenal rate of burnout as a result. Nonetheless, preventing medical errors and avoiding costly medical malpractice claims needs to be a priority for every physician practicing in the United States.Let us help you structure a risk-management solution tailored to your practice and your needs. Call us at 516-292-3780 any weekday between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m.to schedule an appointment, or request a free consultation online today.Visit www.CarmoonGroup.com to get your free 30-minute consultation.