Valenzuela Law Firm, PA | Trial Attorney
Attorney Henry E. Valenzuela

What ailments do doctors miss the most?

On Behalf of | Mar 5, 2020 | Uncategorized

When you go to the doctor and they give you a clean bill of health, do you just accept it as a fact? No matter how you feel, do you assume that the doctor must be right and you must be healthy?

While doctors often mean well, the reality is that they do make mistakes. They overlook diseases. They fail to make a diagnosis when they should. They misdiagnose one issue as something else, which may be more minor — saying that skin cancer is just a rash, for instance.

A massive impact

These errors can have a dramatic impact on your health. Prompt treatment is always best, especially with serious conditions like cancer. If the doctor misses it, will your condition grow worse? Could it turn fatal? You trusted them with your health and they let you down. How is that going to influence the rest of your life?

A doctor can miss almost anything. Maybe they didn’t learn enough to spot the signs. Maybe they got distracted. Maybe they felt tired from long days at work and just made a mistake. It happens. With that in mind, here are a few of the most common things they get wrong or overlook:

  • Sleep apnea: Some reports claim that only about 10% of people with sleep apnea actually get diagnosed.
  • Glaucoma: This is a progressive disease that gets worse over time, so a misdiagnosis is very serious.
  • Bipolar disorder: This is often missed when it presents itself in children, as it’s harder to diagnose than it is in adults.
  • Migraines: These are far more than just headaches. They can make it impossible to work or even function on a basic level.
  • Asthma: Again, this is something that often impacts children and often goes overlooked. In severe cases, it can be fatal.
  • Oral cancer: In some cases, this disease shows up even in people who have not smoked. Some doctors overlook it because they assume a non-smoker will not have it, and they miss the clear signs.
  • Celiac disease: This has certainly become more well-known in recent years, but experts warn that some doctors “don’t think about it” and may spend their time looking into other issues with similar symptoms.

Some of these issues are clearly more serious than others, but they can all impact your life negatively when a doctor tells you there is nothing wrong or gives you an inaccurate diagnosis. In some cases, the mistake can lead to heavy financial ramifications when you need more extensive treatment at a later date.

Has this happened to you? If so, make sure that you take the time to look into all of the legal options you have.

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