Misdiagnosis in Hospitals and Emergency Rooms in Phila., Delaware & Montgomery Counties

Misdiagnosis is one of the most common forms of hospital malpractice in Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, Delaware County and Montgomery County. Other types of hospital malpractice include lab mistakes, diagnostic test mix-ups, negligence in facility management resulting in a fall accident, negligence in infection control, and treatment delays.

In our medical malpractice law practice, we often encounter the following types of hospital misdiagnosis cases:

• stroke misdiagnosis,
• pulmonary embolism misdiagnosis, and
• heart attack misdiagnosis.

Other hospital misdiagnosis cases involve failure to diagnose infections such as meningitis, sepsis.

Correct diagnosis of stroke, pulmonary embolism and heart attack is critical because misdiagnosis is often fatal or causes major injuries and permanent symptoms. Timely treatment leads to higher rates of survival and recovery.

Stroke Misdiagnosis

Common symptoms of stroke include cognitive deficits, facial numbness or drooping, and weak arms or legs. Patients who present to hospitals or emergency rooms with symptoms of stroke only have a short window of time within which to receive stroke medication or endovascular treatment. Failure to receive critical treatment often results in permanent disabilities, or in some cases, death.

Stroke misdiagnosis in hospitals often occurs due to negligence of a hospital employee, such as a nurse or doctor. For example, a doctor or nurse fails to perform a full and proper physical exam which results in misdiagnosis of the patient’s impending stroke. In addition, stroke is misdiagnosed due to insufficient hospital procedures or insufficient staffing. For example, due to staffing shortages, a triage nurse fails to evaluate a potential stroke patient in a timely manner.

Pulmonary Embolism Misdiagnosis

When a blood clot travels to the lung, a condition known as pulmonary embolism (PE), correct diagnosis and timely treatment is critical to survival. Unfortunately, PE is often misdiagnosed as pneumonia or asthma, especially in patients with a history of lung disorders.

Misdiagnosis of pulmonary embolism often occurs when a treating doctor or emergency room employee fails to consider the patient’s risk factors, like previous heart attack, recent surgery, or pregnancy, along with classic PE symptoms like chest pain, leg pain, labored breathing, etc. This can occur in a family doctor’s office or in emergency rooms or hospitals.

Heart Attack Misdiagnosis

In hospitals, heart attack may be misdiagnosed as other medical conditions such as heart burn or even anxiety. This is especially true for younger, female or minority patients. Typically, heart attack misdiagnosis occurs due to the failure to identify a patient’s risk factors, like high cholesterol or high blood pressure, failure to perform cardiology workup or failure to test for troponins which are proteins released into the blood when there’s damage to heart muscle cells.

Misdiagnosed at a Hospital? Contact Our Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Law Firm

The Morris Wilson law firm focuses on complex medical malpractice and hospital malpractice cases across Pennsylvania, including Philadelphia, Delaware and Montgomery counties. Contact our firm for a free consultation. Find out if you or a loved one can seek compensation for medical malpractice. (610) 825-0500