How a Doctor’s Dismissal of Symptoms Can Lead to Hospital Negligence Claims
Doctors who invalidate or dismiss medical symptoms threaten patient safety. At best, a physician who dismisses your symptoms delivers inadequate care. At worst, you may suffer harm. Whether due to time constraints, lack of knowledge about a condition, or inexperience, dismissing symptoms can lead to misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses. If you have had a physician dismiss your symptoms only to suffer complications later, our Cherry Hill medical malpractice lawyers would like to speak with you.
Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis
Failing to recognize the correlation between symptoms and a medical condition often results in misdiagnoses or delayed diagnoses. This may be due to ordering tests based on the doctor’s hunch rather than the full clinical picture. In other scenarios, a doctor may be unfamiliar with how symptoms of common conditions differ between men and women.
For example, a female who presents with nausea, jaw pain, extreme fatigue, and cold sweats may be experiencing a heart attack. Unfortunately, the doctor may diagnose these symptoms as generalized anxiety disorder, dismissing the jaw pain as TMJ. While chest pain is the most common symptom of a heart attack in men, between 30% to 40% of women do not experience chest discomfort. As a result, heart attacks in women are often not diagnosed quickly, resulting in irreversible damage to the heart muscle.
Diagnostic Overshadowing
Sometimes a physician may diagnose you with another condition but miss the more urgent problem. For instance, a patient in their mid-30s who experiences tingling or numbness in the hands and feet, exhaustion, and trouble finding words (“brain fog”) may be diagnosed with a vitamin B-12 deficiency. Since the patient’s symptoms check all the boxes, a physician may order B-12 injections and discharge the individual.
While the B-12 diagnosis is confirmed through a blood test, the doctor missed the more serious diagnosis of multiple sclerosis (MS). Even though the patient complained of balance issues, the doctor attributed this to chronic dehydration (given that the patient is an athlete). The patient was only later diagnosed with MS after a fall. Given this delayed diagnosis, certain therapies may be ineffective or unavailable.
Medical Gaslighting
When a doctor dismisses or minimizes your concerns, this is known as medical gaslighting. Medical gaslighting is more prevalent with female patients, with providers failing to investigate further into a patient’s complaints. Sadly, medical gaslighting can cause more than physical harm, with patients experiencing mental distress and a distrust in the medical community. Subsequently, the patient may avoid medical treatment, placing the individual at risk in the event of a medical emergency.
Damages in a Hospital Negligence Claim
If a hospital or provider failed to provide competent medical care, you may be eligible to recoup the following damages:
- Surgery and procedure costs
- Lost wages
- Lost earning capacity
- Rehabilitative therapies (including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and counseling)
- Home modifications
- Pain and suffering
- Negligent infliction of emotional distress
- Loss of companionship and society
- Disfigurement and/or scarring
- Permanent disability
Understanding what damages you are entitled to and how to calculate intangible losses (such as pain and suffering) is best left to our experienced medical malpractice team. Our Cherry Hill medical malpractice lawyers will gather your patient records and applicable imaging, biopsies, and blood tests. From there, a medical expert witness can assess your case to determine where and how the negligence occurred.
Consult with Our Cherry Hill Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today
Medical negligence can cause serious injuries, impacting a person’s personal and professional life. At Ginsberg & O’Connor, our Cherry Hill medical malpractice attorneys have spent over four decades fighting for individuals injured by a physician’s ineptitude. Let us put our knowledge and experience to work for you. To schedule your free consultation with a member of our legal team, you can reach us online or by calling (856) 727-1991.