What Are the Most Commonly Misdiagnosed Diseases?

Roughly 12 million Americans are misdiagnosed each year. Of those, some are incorrectly diagnosed and are prescribed medications that are harmful to their condition. Others aren’t diagnosed at all and lose valuable time that could have been used to prevent the illness from getting worse. Worst of all, these situations can quickly spiral out of control because some of the most commonly misdiagnosed diseases are also some of the deadliest.

Stroke

Time is of the essence when it comes to treating a stroke. Doctors must be precise in identifying that a stroke occurred and then verifying what kind. Generally speaking, there are two types of strokes and they are treated very differently. If doctors misidentify the kind of stroke, it could cause catastrophic damage.

Heart Attack

A heart attack can be more urgent than a stroke. While waiting to treat a stroke greatly impacts a victim’s recovery, waiting to treat a heart attack is often fatal. Sadly, thousands of people are misdiagnosed or undiagnosed with a heart attack each year.

Of those victims of malpractice, a great number are women, especially black women. Heart attack symptoms manifest differently in women and black women’s concerns often aren’t taken seriously.

Cancer

A cancer diagnosis must be precise. A missed diagnosis allows the condition to go under the radar and potentially worsen or even become terminal. A misdiagnosis is equally terrifying because the diagnosis itself is extremely stressful and cancer treatments are often destructive to the human body.

Despite this, cancer misdiagnosis is extremely common; with one study suggesting 30% of diagnoses are incorrect. When that happens, victims have a right to pursue justice from the doctors who wronged them.

If you or someone you love were misdiagnosed, we are here for you. If you’d like an experienced Cincinnati medical malpractice attorney from the Moore Law Firm to evaluate your case, please send us an email or call (513) 232-2000.