Free Reports
Practice Areas
HSInjury Blog 
Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes
- Malpractice Reform Would Save Little Money, Harm Patients Already Injured
- Surgical Mistake Reportedly Led to Rep. Murtha’s Death
- Prescription Drug Dispensing Error Costs Rite Aid $2.5 Million
Norfolk-Portsmouth Personal Injury Lawyer 
Virginia Beach Personal Injury Lawyer
Northeast NC Personal Injury Lawyer
Firm News
- New Hospital Plans to Decrease Number of Beds, Will Quality Improve?
Posted on 3/6/2010 - Use of "safe-surgery checklist" could reduce medical mistakes
Posted on 2/4/2010 - Virginia (VA) Jury Awards $7.5 Million in Failure to Diagnose Breast Cancer Case
Posted on 6/5/2009 - West Virginia Family Files Medical Malpractice Suit For Woman’s High Blood Pressure Death
Posted on 4/17/2009 - Virginia Pilot Demands That Dangerous Doctors Be Disciplined
Posted on 4/1/2009
Library
Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes
Misdiagnosis in the Hospital Emergency Room
In our Virginia Beach, Virginia (VA) law firm we get a lot of calls about medical malpractice claims that arise from a doctor’s misdiagnosis of a serious medical condition. Misdiagnosis is where the physician doesn’t realize that the patient has a particular medical problem and sends them home with the wrong diagnosis and the wrong treatment plan. Sometimes, the patient may die or suffer some other catastrophic injury like the loss of fingers or other amputation because they did not get the necessary medical treatment in a timely fashion.
Misdiagnosis of medical problems can occur in any setting where patients interact with doctors. For example, it could happen in your family doctor’s office, a pediatrician’s office, an internist’s office, an urgent care facility, or even in a specialist’s office. One of the more common settings for this kind of medical malpractice is the emergency room at the local hospital. Part of the reason that emergency rooms are the location of misdiagnosis has to do with the nature of the practice of emergency room doctors. A crowded, busy emergency room particularly in a city like Norfolk or Virginia Beach, Virginia can be very stressful. Emergency room physicians often get frustrated by the fact that some people, particularly those without health insurance, are forced to come to the emergency room to treat chronic problems rather than the kind of acute emergency situations that those hospital emergency rooms are really designed for. This is, in part, a problem with the whole medical care system in the United States, not just in Virginia or North Carolina (NC).
However, the safe method of diagnosis for an emergency room physician doesn’t change just because his or her waiting room is busy or crowded. The standard method for diagnosis is called differential diagnosis. Using differential diagnosis, the doctor is trained to figure out what are the possible problems with the patient and rank those in terms of the severity of risk to the patient’s health. The bigger the risk, like the patient dying or losing a limb, the more attention that needs to be paid to either exclude that as not being the cause of the problem or to make treatment to prevent the harm a priority.
Unfortunately, sometimes the rushed emergency room doctor will not take the time and get the differential diagnosis right. They may fail to think of and rule in or out a particular problem like appendicitis, or inflamed appendix, ignoring the symptoms which match up with that diagnosis. Another way that emergency room misdiagnosis occurs is where the doctor or the hospital triage or intake nurse do not listen carefully enough to the patient to get all of the relevant history and symptoms. For example, the hospital emergency room may not recognize that there is some kind of mental or cognitive problem that is a sign of a stroke, by assuming that the patient is slow for some other reason. We have often seen in our law practice where the emergency room doctors treat folks who were in automobile accidents like second-class citizens not giving enough attention to some of the serious but more subtle effects that can happen like moderate traumatic brain injury. Sometimes a misdiagnosis in the emergency room will not result in a catastrophic injury to the patient because the correct diagnosis will be picked up later by a doctor who spends more time with the patient. However, it is unfortunately too frequent that a loved one, whether a son or daughter, husband or wife, mom or dad, is sent home from the emergency room told that they just have the flu or a stomach bug only to have them find out days later that they have something much more serious and life threatening which went untreated because of a medical mistake.
Shapiro, Cooper Lewis & Appleton personal injury law firm is based in Virginia practicing primarily in the southeastern U.S. and handles only injury law, including car, truck, railroad, and medical negligence cases and more. The firm's website is: hsinjurylaw.com, the firm edits two injury law blogs: Virginia Beach Injuryboard & Norfolk Injuryboard, and also hosts a video library covering many FAQ’s on personal injury subjects.
How should you locate the best, top injury lawyer for your case?
Our Injury Lawyers Have Been Selected For Many Achievements Outlined Below:
Several Injury Attorneys With Our Firm have been Named As Virginia "Super Lawyers" For Personal Injury Law (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009 Ed.)(Less than 5% of Outstanding Lawyers are Chosen); also selected by the National Million Dollar Advocates Forum (Lewis, Shapiro - 2009); named among the Top 100 Lawyers in Virginia by ATLA (Shapiro - 2009), and our law firm was the first Injury Law Firm in Virginia Invited to Join Primerus, a select group of Highly Ethical, Respected Law Firms .
In October, 2000 our law firm and co-counsel obtained, what was then, the largest record verdict in Virginia's history for an injured person (46 Million Dollar Verdict, with Interest, 60 Million Dollars, Settled confidentially during appeal). Click on any icon for more details.
Geographical Areas:
Our personal injury lawyers handle personal injury cases throughout the eastern USA, and work closely with lawyers in other states on signficant injury cases.
As to Virginia (VA), this includes: Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Suffolk, Richmond (entire area), Petersburg, Roanoke/Salem, Alexandria, Arlington, Fairfax, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, all areas of the Eastern Shore, including Accomack, Onancock, Chincoteauge, Wachapreague, and Cape Charles, Bloxom, Eastville, Exmore, Greenbackville, Machipongo, Mappsville, Melfa, Nassawadox, Onley, Tangier, Temperanceville, Wachapreague, and Wallops Island, Ashland, Big Stone Gap and any other city/ounty.
As to West Virginia (WV) personal injury claims: Bluefield, Beckley, Bridgeport, Charles Town, Charleston, Fairmont, Huntington, Lewisburg, Madison, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Moundsville, Parkersburg, Ripley, Sutton, Weirton, Wheeling, and any other town or county.
Injury Lawyers licensed in VA, WV, NC, SC, KY & Wash., DC.
Quick Contact
Main Office
1294 Diamond Springs Road
Virginia Beach, VA 23455
Phone: (757) 460-7776
Fax: (757) 460.3428
Toll Free: (800) 752.0042
Get Directions
Hampton-Peninsula Area Office
Mill Point Center
101 Eaton Street
Hampton, Virginia 23669
Phone: (757) 788-8162
Fax: (757) 460-3428
Toll Free: (800) 752-0042
Get Directions
NE NC Office
101 E. Elizabeth Street
Elizabeth City, NC 27909
Phone: (757) 460-7776
Fax: (757) 460.3428
Toll Free: (800) 752.0042
Get Directions
We Welcome
Lawyer Referrals
click here
Case Results
DISCLAIMER: PLEASE NOTE THAT EVERY CASE IS DIFFERENT, AND THE VERDICTS AND SETTLEMENTS MENTIONED ON THIS WEBSITE, WHILE ACCURATE, DO NOT REPRESENT WHAT WE MAY OBTAIN FOR YOU IN YOUR CASE.
Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes
- Retained Surgical Sponge and Subsequent Complications
- Failed Back Surgery
- Failure to Diagnose/ER Doctor/vascular incident (aortic aneurysim)
- Gastric Bypass (stomach stapling) Surgery complications
- Gallbladder Surgery Error
Awarded: $425,000.00 Settlement
Awarded: The case was settled before the trial for 1.25 million dollars.
Awarded: $700,000.00
Awarded: $550,000.00 settlement during mediation.
Awarded: $425,000
FAQs
Medical Malpractice/Doctor Mistakes
- A family member died in a nursing home, and after talking with members of the staff, it sounds like they died due to nursing home neglect. Should I get a lawyer?
- I have a feeling something is wrong at my family member's nursing home. What should I do if I suspect nursing home abuse or neglect?
- A family member died in a nursing home, and after talking with members of the staff, it sounds like they died due to nursing home neglect. Should I get a lawyer?
What is the Virginia (VA) statute of limitations for personal injury in a medical malpractice case?