One of the most important tasks of any Oregon doctor is to determine a patient’s condition and prescribe a course of treatment. When a doctor does not take the time to conduct a thorough examination, take as accurate and complete a medical/family history as possible and rushes through an appointment, symptoms can be mistaken for a minor ailment or dismissed completely. Such a failure to diagnose a patient properly could lead to adverse health consequences that could cause permanent injury or death.
A woman went to a hospital in her area in March 2014. She claims that while under the care of doctors at the facility, she suffered a stroke. She alleges that doctors failed to discover that she was hypoglycemic, which is a condition that occurs when a person’s blood sugar drops below normal. Furthermore, as she was being admitted to the hospital, her mental and physical status changed, yet no tests were ordered to determine the cause.
The Illinois woman claims that it was not until several hours later that her stroke was diagnosed and treated. Had her condition been treated in a timely manner, she believes that further injury would have been prevented. No response from the defendants in the case was available at the time of this writing.
This woman survived her ordeal, but not without suffering permanent injury. Oregon residents — and their families in the case of death — who find themselves in a similar situation may file a medical malpractice claim seeking restitution for the financial losses and other damages caused by health care that falls below accepted standards. A failure to diagnose often leads to the necessity of additional medical treatment that should have been unnecessary, and can result in serious and/or permanent injury or even death.
Source: cookcountyrecord.com, “Patient sues Glenview hospital, physician, alleging medical malpractice“, Robbie Hargett, Sept. 30, 2015