When someone dies as a result of misdiagnosis, the surviving members of the family have the right to seek answers to questions regarding the treatment of the deceased. Doctors and health care workers are human and often succumb to making mistakes that affect the lives of innocents. Despite having the latest medical technology at their disposal, medical misdiagnosis continue to occur due to lack of proper training, negligence or oversight on the parts of the healthcare providers.
Medical misdiagnosis have led to countless lawsuits against hospitals and doctors to make them accountable for their negligent actions. However, not all such lawsuits end with million dollar wins for the patient or surviving families. Hence finding the right attorney or law firm to represent your case is of paramount importance. The ideal attorney will be upfront with you about the options you have as you discuss your case with him. If he agrees to accepting his fees on a contingent basis, then you are in a good situation as you will pay him only upon winning your case.
In several cases however, lawsuits against medical malpractice have led to success in holding the accused liable for their actions. The financial compensations awarded to the surviving family have been astounding and justly satisfying. The right lawyer can do much to alleviate the suffering of the surviving families by bringing them justice and closure on their loved one's behalf.
Case in point, the surviving members of a Wisconsin man's family were awarded 3.7 million after filing a wrongful death suit against the Bellin Family Medical Center in Bonduel. The hospital had misdiagnosed Gustavo Espinal- Satos' symptoms as a case of pneumonia. By the time, Mr. Santos' symptoms were finally diagnosed as that of blastomycosis, a rare fungal infection, it was too late to save the patient. The hospital had failed to run proper diagnostic tests to pinpoint the cause of the ailment.
In 2005, Mercy Hospital agreed to a settlement of $11 million in the case against the hospital filed by the family of 4-year-old Torajee Bobbett. In 2001, when Torajee was admitted for vomiting, the hospital failed to detect bowel dysfunction which later led to a cardiac arrest and irreversible brain damage. The hospital was also accused of being negligent in providing proper care for the patient for up to 10 hours.
In February 2010, a Fairfax County jury awarded nearly $3 million, which was later reduced to $1.25 million to the family of Hector Alvarez, a 52-year old who died after a radiologist wrongly diagnosed his condition as hiatal hernia. Alvarez was in fact suffering from a torn esophagus succumbed to his illness weeks after his visit to the hospital in Alexandria, Virginia.
Medical misdiagnoses and therefore medical negligence is believed to be the third largest cause of death in the United States. Though hefty settlements can help the surviving families feel that justice was duly meted, it can hardly compensate for the physical and emotional loss of a loved one. However, the cost and burden of loss can definitely be lightened by bringing the responsible parties to account for their negligence in the handling of someone's life.