Morgan Gleason has a rare autoimmune disease that has left her with symptoms such as muscle weakness and skin rashes. She has been dealing with it since she was little, but she’s in college now. After a recent visit to the doctor’s office, she requested her medical records, something she does after each visit.
She saw that they said she had been pregnant twice and that one child had died shortly after childbirth. The problem is that Gleason has never been pregnant.
This was not the first time she has had a mistake on her records. Once, they said she was a diabetic, which she is not.
Getting her medical records fixed was a hassle. In fact, the people at the doctor’s office said that her records would not have said she had two children if she had not told them about it.
At The Weitz Firm, LLC, we know that this may not seem like a big deal, but medical record errors can lead to major problems, including a misdiagnosis. If you need a Camden failure to diagnose attorney, you can count on our team to be there for you.
What Can Happen?
According to the article we discuss above, around 70 percent of medical records have the wrong information.
“There are millions of records out there and screw-ups happen,” said Ross Koppel, a leading health IT specialist. We recognize that many of these mistakes are minor and have no relevance to a person’s diagnosis, but there are times when they do. As we have discussed before, medical mistakes are now the third leading cause of death in the US, with estimates saying they kill as many as 250,000 people a year.
Johns Hopkins researchers tell us that diagnostic errors accounted for the largest fraction of medical malpractice claims and the leading cause of patient harm. If these misdiagnoses happen due to medical errors, what are your options?
Who is responsible for errors in medical records? Is it up to the patient to check their records after every interaction with a healthcare professional to make sure a mistake was not made?
We think that doctors, nurses, and other healthcare specialists should be more diligent when keeping records. When they do not properly do their job, they should be held accountable for the mistakes that are made as a result.
What You Can Do Now
Medical mistakes happen at alarming rates. If you or a loved one have been the victim of a medical mistake, you need to seek legal assistance as soon as possible. At The Weitz Firm, LLC, we want to help you get through this by ensuring that you have the compensation you need for all of your accident-related expenses. This can include:
- Coverage for your medical costs
- Lost income if you miss work
- Pain and suffering damages
- Punitive damages
When you need a Camden failure to diagnose attorney, you can contact us for a free consultation by clicking here or calling 267-587-6240.
