When you feel sick or get injured, there is usually a good chance that your doctors will be able to diagnose the problem or injury and offer you some kind of treatment to fix or manage it. Advances in technology, such as X-rays, have helped by making it possible for physicians to make more accurate and earlier diagnoses. However, when medical workers misread images, patients can suffer dire health consequences.
If you or a member of your family experienced harm because of a medical imaging mistake, you might be able to pursue a medical malpractice suit against the negligent provider. A Bridgeport X-ray malpractice lawyer at Berkowitz Hanna can navigate the legal system and pursue the compensation you deserve.
Advanced medical imaging technology, such as X-rays, CT, MRI, and PET scans, allows doctors to see inside patient’s bodies. Medical imaging creates digital pictures that let doctors see broken bones, tumors, internal bleeding, problems with a fetus’ development during pregnancy, and other internal problems. Specialized doctors, known as radiologists, review and interpret these images to diagnose and treat a wide variety of health conditions. Radiologists then report their findings to the patients’ doctors, who come up with treatment plans based on the radiologists’ reports.
When a radiologist misinterprets an X-ray or other medical image, patients end up suffering the consequences. The following are some of the X-ray errors our Bridgeport lawyers commonly see:
If a doctor looks at an X-ray and fails to spot a problem, the patient will not receive the treatment they need. Their medical condition could worsen over time.
Even relatively minor health problems like broken bones could become far more serious. For instance, when people learn they have a broken ankle, they can usually get a cast on their ankle, stay off the injured foot for a prescribed period, and within a few weeks, they can be back to normal. When a break is more complex, they can receive surgery to fix it. If a patient does not learn that their bone is broken, they might continue trying to walk around on it, possibly making their injury worse. If the bone is not set properly right away, the patient could do permanent damage, possibly resulting in lingering pain or mobility problems.
For patients with serious health conditions like cancer, delays in treatment can quickly turn fatal. Not spotting a tumor on an X-ray could give a patient’s cancer time to grow and spread throughout their body, possibly making treatment harder or even impossible.
If a radiologist reads an image incorrectly, the patient could receive treatment for the wrong condition. They might have to undergo unnecessary, painful surgeries or other medical procedures to treat a condition they do not have. This could cause them to incur significant medical expenses and force them to take time away from work, resulting in lost wages. In addition, they might also suffer emotional anguish from thinking they have a potentially serious medical condition. In addition to receiving treatment for the wrong condition, the patient would also not receive treatment for their actual problem.
Seasoned Bridgeport attorneys have the necessary experience to review a radiologist’s report and physician’s treatment plan to determine if their mistakes rose to the level of medical malpractice. From here, an attorney can take the necessary steps to hold the negligent provider accountable.
When it comes to most medical problems, early detection and treatment are key. With prompt diagnosis and care, many patients can make full recoveries. However, when a radiologist misreads an X-ray, patients can experience severe problems.
If you believe your doctor misinterpreted your X-rays, you might have grounds to file suit. Call a Bridgeport X-ray malpractice lawyer at Berkowitz Hanna today to discuss your case.
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