Understanding Radiologist Malpractice and Its Consequences

How a Kansas City Personal Injury Attorney Helps Defend Your Rights After Radiologist Malpractice

Radiologists have a challenging job. It’s up to them to interpret medical images to identify abnormalities and potential signs of disease. While overlooking an abnormality doesn't always constitute malpractice, there are instances where some radiologists fail to detect evidence of illness that a competent and diligent professional likely would have noticed.

Unfortunately, this problem happens all too frequently, leading to missed diagnoses and delayed treatments that significantly impact patient outcomes. The radiologist malpractice lawyers at Fowler Pickert Eisenmenger Norfleet in Kansas City can help patients who suffered harm due to negligence by helping them pursue justice and fair compensation for their losses.

How Radiologist Malpractice Happens

Radiologists are physicians trained to review various imaging tools and collaborate with other health care professionals to provide a wide range of diagnostic care and treatment. The intention is to always ensure patient safety and care, but mistakes do happen. Here are some of the most common issues our medical malpractice clients have faced.

Perception Errors

Also known as "missed diagnoses," these occur when radiologists fail to detect abnormalities in medical images. Despite being skilled professionals, even experienced radiologists can overlook positive findings on X-rays, mammograms, MRIs, or CT scans, particularly if they have low case volumes.

Communication Problems

Generally, radiologists aren't usually required to talk directly to patients except when handling mammograms. But this doesn't mean they can just write a report and forget about it. They need to make sure the patient or their doctor receives accurate information.

When communication errors happen in radiology, they often lead to big lawsuits. It's not necessarily because the damages are higher than in other cases, such as misdiagnosis or missed test results, but because it's easy for juries to see how a simple communication slip-up could have made a big difference in getting the right treatment for the patient.

Incorrect Medication

A health care report found that medication errors are seven times more likely to occur during radiological services compared to other hospital departments. Why is this? As mentioned earlier, communication breakdowns play a significant role. The most common errors involve patients receiving the wrong medication or an incorrect dosage, or not being given necessary medication.

Damages Associated With Radiologist Malpractice

When you or a loved one is harmed due to radiologist malpractice, you may be entitled to various types of damages to compensate for your losses. Here are some of the economic and non-economic damages you may be able to recover.

Medical Expenses

This includes all costs directly related to radiologist negligence, such as additional treatments, surgeries, medications, rehabilitation, therapy, and any future medical care you may require.

Lost Income

If medical complications caused you to miss work or resulted in diminished earning capacity, you may be entitled to compensation for lost wages, including both past and future income losses.

Pain and Suffering

Non-economic damages, such as physical pain, emotional distress, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment of life, are often the most significant aspects of a malpractice claim. These damages aim to compensate you for the pain and suffering you've endured due to the malpractice.

Do You Believe You Or A Loved One Have Experienced Medical Malpractice? Speak With A Kansas City Area Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today

If you or a loved one are victims of medical negligence or malpractice, it's critical that you contact an experienced Kansas City medical malpractice lawyer right away. You’ll need to show a number of things to prove that malpractice was the direct or proximal cause of your injuries. Please feel free to contact us online or call our office directly at 888.813.0825 to schedule your free consultation. We are proud to serve Kansas City, Missouri and the surrounding area and look forward to speaking with you.