What are the Most Commonly Misdiagnosed Illnesses in Mercer Island?

Posted Friday, December 9, 2022 by Chris Thayer

A solid medical diagnosis is based on solid evidence. Frequently, doctors do not have the evidence they need. Doctors often do not run a full array of diagnostic tests, mostly because they do not want to do the insurance paperwork. On a related note, doctors often over-delegate test interpretation to nurses and other less-qualified professionals. Many doctors also do not know enough about patient symptoms. The average doctor only listens to the average patient for eleven seconds.

Doctors have a very high duty of care in Washington. This duty includes a responsibility to collect as much evidence as possible and base a diagnosis on this evidence. Doctors cannot rely on their instincts or even their professional training and experience. If a lack of care causes misdiagnosis, a Mercer Island personal injury attorney can obtain compensation in court. This compensation usually includes money for economic losses, such as medical bills, and noneconomic losses, such as pain and suffering. Additional punitive damages are also available in many of these cases.

*Head Injuries*Doctors frequently rely on signature symptoms to diagnose injuries, especially in busy emergency rooms. Head injury signature symptoms usually include vomiting and unconsciousness. Most head injury victims are not vomiting and unconscious in examining rooms. So, doctors must listen to patients to uncover these symptoms, and as mentioned, most doctors do not listen too well.

On a related note, many heart attack victims do not have signature symptoms, such as severe chest pain. So, doctors must rely on diagnostic tests, and also as mentioned, accurate test results are often unavailable.

Furthermore, trauma is not the only cause of a Traumatic Brain Injury. Motion and a sudden loud noise could cause TBIs as well.

The brain is not the same size as the skull. Instead, the brain is about as big as two clenched fists. So, when people fall, even if they do not land hard, their brains slam against the insides of their skulls. The same thing is true for many car crash victims.

Sudden loud noises cause shock waves which disrupt brain functions. Many Iraq and Afghanistan, and other Southwest Asia veterans with head injuries were hurt in this way.

*Cancer*Pain is the initial signature cancer symptom. Many things, other than cancer, cause chronic pain and fatigue.

Additionally, as far as many doctors are concerned, cancer is a genetic or lifestyle condition unless they have enough evidence to suggest otherwise. Quite frankly, many doctors simply do not bother to collect evidence.

Furthermore, a doctor may accurately diagnose cancer but misdiagnose the type and location of cancer. Many cancers are relatively easy to manage. They are almost like diabetes. Other cancers are much more aggressive, so the treatment must be equally aggressive. Improper treatment is like no treatment.

*Autoimmune Diseases*In terms of diagnosis issues, many autoimmune diseases are like cancer. Various musculoskeletal and autoimmune diseases affect different people differently. These different diseases also have different treatments. If a doctor says the patient has the wrong disease, any treatments that the doctor prescribes may be essentially useless.

*Count on an Experienced King County Attorney* Injury victims are entitled to substantial compensation. For a free consultation with an experienced personal injury attorney in Mercer Island, contact Pivotal Law Group, PLLC. Attorneys can connect victims with doctors, even without insurance or money.