Knowledgeable and Experienced Guidance

Diagnostic errors could create various health risks

On Behalf of | Oct 12, 2020 | Medical Malpractice |

While visiting a medical facility in North Carolina or elsewhere, most patients expect medical professionals to be capable of providing them with a certain standard of care. While accurately diagnosing a patient’s condition is a vital step toward deciding on a path of care, things do not always go as planned. Diagnostic errors continue to be a major concern in the medical field and such errors run the risk of opening patients up to a variety of potential health concerns.

Recent studies indicate that diagnostic errors continue to occur at an alarming pace, affecting nearly 12 million American patients every year. Results from these studies also indicate that nearly half of those subjected to such negligence run the risk of suffering severe harm in the process. Researchers assert that diagnostic errors can create various health concerns and in some cases, such errors could carry fatal consequences.

The presence of diagnostic errors could expose a patient to an improper path of treatment or cause doctors to prescribe the incorrect dose or type of medication. An incorrect or inaccurate diagnosis could also result in delays in treatment or leave a patient without any form of treatment. With many medical conditions, delays in or lack of care can carry catastrophic ramifications, potentially causing one’s condition to continue to worsen with time or cause new conditions to manifest.

Diagnostic errors run the risk of causing a person to suffer life-altering harm or families to experience the untimely loss of someone close. Those who experience harm or loss due to the negligent actions of another party may wish to know more about their available legal avenues, but they might not be certain of the next steps to take. Fortunately, there are attorneys in North Carolina who can evaluate the circumstances a person is facing and provide him or her with guidance on the best course of action with which to proceed.