Misdiagnosis can be fatal for Marylanders

Being a single parent in Maryland is not unusual, but that doesn’t make it any easier. Raising children has gotten tougher, even for parents who are doing it together. Providing the sole income for the family and being the sole provider of love and physical care can be draining on the best of days. When a mother is also battling deadly cancer due to a misdiagnosis, the weight of being a single parent weighs far more heavily.

A 47-year-old woman in another state was a regular medical missionary. She frequently traveled to other countries to provide services, using her nursing background to help save lives. The woman could be found showing women how to perform a self-breast exam to detect lumps in the breast that may need immediate medical attention. Little did she know that she would find a lump herself and be in need of those immediate medical services.

Once the woman discovered the lump, eight different doctors perused her medical history, scans and charts. None of the doctors picked up the inflammatory breast cancer, citing it as mastitis and prescribing rounds of antibiotics that never worked. The breakdown in communication between the ultrasound technician and the radiologist is what is thought to be believed the reason for the misdiagnosis.

Regardless of the circumstances, a misdiagnosis still leaves a single mother left to fight to wake up every morning and spend just one more day with her children. Victims of medical mistakes can leave patients devastated and families struggling to make ends meet or prepare for the inevitable. If a Maryland resident has been the victim of a medical misdiagnosis or error, seeking the aid of an attorney to understand the legal recourse is an option. Filing a lawsuit to help cover medical costs, lost wages and future needs of children and/or spouses who may be left to deal with the aftermath might be advisable.

Source: clickorlando.com, “Mom with incurable breast cancer wins $21.6M medical malpractice verdict“, Victor Oquendo, Michael Seiden, Andrea Torres, May 6, 2017