Some medical malpractice cases focus on a doctor’s failure to diagnose a serious disease, which results in delay of crucial treatment for the patient. In other cases, a misdiagnosis of a serious disease is made when the patient actually has a milder condition or no physical disorder at all. A Medical Malpractice Attorney may be called upon for help after this type of misdiagnosis has a severe negative impact on the person’s life.
For example, a case study in the medical literature focuses on a middle-aged patient in a wheelchair who had not been able to walk for some time and was unwilling to stand on her own. She had been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease some months earlier and now had come to a new doctor for evaluation. After running various diagnostic tests, the doctor could not find any verification for the diagnosis, even though the patient had some symptoms similar to the disease.
As it turned out, this particular patient had developed an extreme fear of falling after taking a spill and suffering a compression fracture in her lower back. This led her to gradually change her gait to a hesitant method of walking, taking abnormally small steps and placing her feet firmly in place and too far apart. The researchers noted that this type of gait is prevalent among people with fears of falling, and ironically, it tends to be a bigger risk factor for falling. However, it should not be considered a Parkinson’s diagnosis without adequate testing.
The patient in the case study had been taking medication for Parkinson’s disease for several months and needed to be weaned off of it. Whether or not she consulted a Medical Malpractice Attorney was not discussed, but she likely had a very good case. Because of the diagnosis, she became even more afraid of falling and allowed herself to be confined to a wheelchair. She took unnecessary prescription drugs that can cause permanent side effects, including ongoing involuntary movements associated with dyskinesia. A lawyer like Danny E. Darnall, Attorney at Law, is ready to help people dealing with the aftereffects of misdiagnosis. Please visit the website for more information. You can also follow them on Twitter.
