- “They go above and beyond for their clients and always have the best interest of their clients in the forefront.”
- “From the first meeting I knew I was in good hands with the Reardon Law Firm.”
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One form of medical malpractice is a misdiagnosis. The severity of this mistake often depends on the ailment that was misdiagnosed. In some cases, it may have relatively little impact on the patient’s health. In other cases, it can be a fatal mistake.
An example of a serious misdiagnosis is when it comes to a heart attack. Doctors will sometimes confuse heart attacks with panic attacks or anxiety attacks. This may mean that they do not offer the patient the life-saving treatment they need, instead sending them home with instructions to rest and relax. But if that patient was experiencing a heart attack, doing so could cause them to pass away.
Why does this happen more for women?
Studies indicate that women have misdiagnosed heart attacks more often than men. This is not to say that it cannot happen to men, but simply that women need to be especially wary. There is a disproportionate level of risk that they could experience this type of medical malpractice.
In many of these cases, the reason for the error is that men and women have different symptoms, but doctors do not always realize that. A doctor may assume that someone is not having a heart attack if they do not complain about severe chest pain and shortness of breath, for instance. But those are typical male symptoms, while women may present symptoms like dizziness, nausea, fatigue or back pain.
It is important for doctors to take every case seriously and consider all potential options to avoid a serious misdiagnosis. But when medical malpractice does occur, injured patients or their family members may need to begin looking into all of the legal options at their disposal.
