A pulmonary embolism is a significant medical event. It occurs when a blood clot forms in the body and becomes stuck in the pulmonary artery that supplies the lungs with blood from the heart. The deprivation of blood to the lungs can be fatal and it is an unfortunate truth that this serious condition is often misdiagnosed in Texas residents and others throughout the world.
There are several factors that can contribute to pulmonary embolism misdiagnoses. One of those factors relates to the symptoms that individuals present in the week that their problem is ultimately identified. Patients who do not exhibit strong symptoms of pulmonary embolism are not always recognized as having the condition.
Additionally, an assessment called the “Geneva risk calculation” is often used to determine if a patient is suffering from pulmonary embolism. If doctors rely on the results of this calculation without further investigation, they can and do miss the diagnoses of life-threatening pulmonary embolisms in their patients.
Other factors may influence the outcome of a patient’s medical assessment for pulmonary embolism. This often misdiagnosed condition should be treated with medical care and patients may advocate for their medical needs when they fear that they have not been given the right diagnoses.
When doctors fail to diagnose pulmonary embolisms their patients can suffer serious complications and may even lose their lives due to medical negligence. The recovery from such a serious medical mistake can be emotionally, physically and financially costly. A lawsuit based on medical malpractice may offer help to individuals who have been harmed by their doctors’ failures to properly diagnose their medical needs.
