Unfortunately, doctors can misdiagnose your injuries after an accident. Learn what mistakes they can make and what you can do about it.
Injuries That Commonly Get Misdiagnosed
Nothing’s convenient when you get into a car accident. And unfortunately, simply being in one opens the door for more stress than you expect.
For example, up to 10-20% of all medical issues may be misdiagnosed. That includes car accident injuries.
Imagine going to the hospital for help after a serious car accident only to come out with the wrong diagnosis or none at all!
Let’s take a look at common car accident injuries that even smart doctors get wrong sometimes.
Whiplash
Even though it’s a common car accident injury, whiplash frequently gets misdiagnosed by even bright doctors.
Whiplash isn’t obviously visible like a broken leg. Instead, it involves pain and inflammation to your neck and upper shoulders.
Even though it can lead to permanent pain and disability in some cases, you may not even feel any pain immediately after your car accident.
In fact, it could take weeks before you notice anything. Because of how it presents, whiplash is often misdiagnosed.
Traumatic Brain Injuries
Why are these so commonly misdiagnosed? Because they don’t present in exactly the same way with any two patients.
When you break a rib, that presents in a similar way in you and anyone else.
However, when you experience traumatic brain injury (TBI), the injury could show up quite differently depending on the region of your brain affected.
And to make matters more confusing, TBI symptoms may not show up for weeks or months, just like whiplash.
You don’t even need to hit your head to experience TBI. You only need a violent movement that jars your brain around in your skull. You may also have other more concerning injuries that require immediate attention, leading to the TBI being overlooked.
And the medical system uses MRIs and CAT scans to identify TBI, even though they have serious accuracy issues.
As a result, TBI often gets misdiagnosed.
Orthopedic Injuries
This term refers to injuries to your bones, joints, muscles, tendons, and other soft tissues.
Though common, orthopedic injuries also frequently get misdiagnosed. Science Daily reports doctors frequently misdiagnose common injuries such as hairline fractures and pulled muscles because they seem minor.
However, such injuries can lead to debilitating long-term pain and even complete disability. You can even end up with arthritis.
Why does this happen?
At the time of examination, the injuries simply seem minor to doctors. And as a result, they overlook diagnosis and don’t order further treatment or testing.
Make Sure You Have a Top-Notch Personal Injury Lawyer on Your Side
Proving misdiagnosis on top of the driver’s liability in a car accident claim takes serious legal expertise.
Medical malpractice cases are among the most difficult to win.
Fortunately, you can afford to hire the best personal injury lawyer in all of the DFW Metroplex. That’s because they only take a percentage of your final compensation when you win.
If your attorney doesn’t win, they don’t get paid anything. So, it simply makes sense to do your research and hire the best personal injury lawyer you can find.
Suggested Reading
Shane V. Mullen is an attorney licensed by the State of Texas for the general practice of law, and the Managing Partner at Mullen & Mullen Law Firm in Dallas, TX. His firm focuses exclusively on personal injury law and has been in business for 40 years (since 1983). Before becoming a lawyer, Shane worked for his father as an accident injury claims investigator.