CBS News reports that a new study conducted by Irish researchers and published in BMJ Open on July 18, 2013 has found that the most common cause of medical malpractice claims is failure on the part of physicians to accurately diagnose patients and the most common consequence of missed diagnoses is death.
The study, which reviewed more than 7,000 medical malpractice papers published in medical journals from various countries, found that missed diagnoses account for between 26 and 63 percent of all malpractice claims. For adults, the most commonly misdiagnosed ailments were cancer and heart attacks, while for children, the most commonly missed diagnoses were cancer and meningitis. Drug errors were the second most common cause of malpractice claims.
According to the researchers, only one in three claims in the United States resulted in a payout for the patient.
Have you suffered as the result of a missed medical diagnosis? You could be entitled to compensation for malpractice. Contact the lawyers at Hodes Milman at (949) 640-8222 today.
