Your Health Should Always Be The Top Priority

According to a study published in the journal BMJ Quality & Safety, approximately 12 million patients a year have their medical conditions misdiagnosed by their doctor. That is almost 5 percent of the patients who see a doctor on an outpatient basis in the United States.

The scale of the problem does not come as a surprise to our malpractice attorneys. At Kurzban Kurzban Tetzeli & Pratt, P.A., we have seen the devastation that misdiagnosis of a serious medical condition has had on our clients and their families. We believe strongly in holding medical professionals accountable when their mistakes harm innocent people.

Causes Of Misdiagnosis And Other Medical Errors

In many cases, the cause of medical errors can be traced to attempts by health care companies to control costs. Economic pressures have forced many doctors to treat the maximum number of patients in the shortest possible time. Unfortunately, this sometimes leads to doctors who write prescriptions rather than taking the time and effort to diagnose a patient’s condition.

Here are just a few reasons why misdiagnoses can occur:

• Medical providers have shifted more patient care responsibilities from doctors to nurse practitioners and other staff members who have less training.
• Doctors are forced to see an increasing number of patients, which gives them less time to spend with each patient.
• Doctors may forgo expensive tests or imaging, especially if they would have to send the patient to another facility to receive those tests.
• General practice doctors may fail to refer to an appropriate specialist who could correctly diagnose the condition.
• Lab technicians are under pressure to review test results quickly, which results in a greater number of errors.

If you have suffered a serious injury or your loved one has died due to misdiagnosis of a serious medical condition, contact our lawyers for a free case evaluation.

Contact Our Attorneys

To set up a free initial consultation with one of our attorneys, call 305-744-5888 or email. We handle serious injury and wrongful death cases in Miami, throughout South Florida and across the United States.