Six year old faces life-threatening series of misdiagnoses

Nationally as well as throughout Pennsylvania, more public attention has been given to medical errors lately. New studies have shown that the rate of deaths caused by such actions or situations is far greater than previously thought. The reasons for these deaths range from problems during or after surgeries, birth injuries, medication errors, misdiagnosis or a failure to diagnose a problem correctly and more. Time and time again, the negligent actions of healthcare professionals have led to the loss of human life.

A six-year old little girl is today happy and healthy but could all too easily have been a fatal victim of a gross failure to diagnose a condition. After a tonsillectomy, the child began experiencing health problems. The symptoms were severe enough to render her virtually lifeless. Her mother took her to multiple doctors, each of whom had his or her own opinion about the problem. Theories included migraines, gastritis, mumps, allergies, infections and a throat tumor.

Finally, a doctor at the University of California San Diego found the true problem. During the tonsillectomy, an artery was injured and resulted in the formation of an aneurism in the girl’s mouth. This doctor was able to use a surgical procedure never before performed to fix the problem and restore the artery back to its healthy condition. If the tumor diagnosis had been believed and a surgery was conducted to remove that mass, the girl would have died.

Stories like these abound around the country, with many a victim not being quite as fortunate. Patients or their loved ones may be able to get help from talking with an attorney when such situations arise.

Source: WeAreCentralPA.om, “A Misdiagnosis Endangers a Little Girl’s Life,” May 6, 2014