One woman in Brooklyn had a persistent cough. Her doctor treated her for over a year for asthma. However, it was later discovered that she really had lung cancer. This Brooklyn woman was devastated to learn that her doctor misdiagnosed her with a common ailment instead of a life threatening disease.
It doesn't seem very fair, but this same woman is the primary caregiver to a child with special needs. She may not live long enough to see her daughter grow up. And this is due in part to the negligence of the doctor. Because of this negligence, a NY court awarded her $625,000 in compensation although her attorneys believe she would have received more had she filed in a court out of state.
How Doctors' Errors Could Endanger Your Health
Consumers have a reasonable belief that the doctor treating them can competently take their symptoms and diagnose them with an ailment. They also reasonably believe that a doctor knows how to care for their conditions. When it comes to light that a doctor may have misdiagnosed a patient, the community is shocked and confidence in that doctor, that hospital, and the medical profession, wanes.
Yearly, there are thousands of incidents which are generally attributed to doctor negligence. This includes misdiagnosis, surgical errors, treatment errors, and more. These incidents could severely endanger a patient's health and cause injury, including:
- allergic reactions
- interior organ damage
- tissue damage
- paralysis
- amputation
- death
Depending upon the error, a patient could be at serious risk for a life altering event, including death. In this case, it's extremely likely that the amount awarded was extremely low considering her limited time left because of the failure to adequately treat her cancer. If you have similarly experienced negative consequences as the result of a surgeon's error or misdiagnosis, you should call a skilled personal injury attorney for help.
