The radiology departments in modern Oregon hospitals feature an impressive array of sophisticated technology, but even the latest X-ray booths and MRI machines cannot eliminate all human error. Radiology mistakes can be particularly damaging when tumors are overlooked or misdiagnosed and cancer treatments are delayed or never begun. The latest scans and X-rays provide medical professionals with levels of detail that would once have been considered unimaginable, but this data does patients little good when doctors either miss important information or fail to grasp its significance.
If you have been harmed because doctors failed to diagnose your medical condition accurately or in a timely manner, you may entitled to compensation. A medical malpractice lawsuit could seek damages to cover your medical expenses and compensate you for your lost income if you were prevented from working for any length of time. The defendant may also be ordered to pay damages to compensate you for your pain, suffering and mental anguish.
You may wish to consider legal action if doctors missed a broken bone on an X-ray or a tumor on an MRI scan. Other common radiology department errors include missing pulmonary embolisms, blood clots and aneurysms on brain scans and failing to notice fractured, ruptured or herniated discs on X-rays. You could also file a lawsuit if your images were lost or your condition was diagnosed correctly but the information was not properly delivered to your treating physician.
The gathering of crucial medical information and its prompt and accurate analysis is a vital part of modern medicine, and patients may suffer serious consequences when mistakes are made or records lost. If you wish to learn more about this subject, please visit our page dealing with medical malpractice lawsuits arising from a misdiagnosis.