When one is sick or injured, Illinois patients must often rely upon doctors and other specialists to determine exactly what the problem is and where it is located. If an individual has injured his or her arm, it is a simple procedure to determine which arm has been injured and ensure that the correct body part is attended to. However, if the problem has to do with an internal organ, the typical individual cannot pinpoint exactly which kidney, lung or other body part is affected. In this case, the patient must rely upon the doctor to identify the problem. Additionally, the patient must assume that a misdiagnosis that could have devastating results has not been made.
Recently, a man in another state filed a lawsuit claiming that his problem was misdiagnosed and the wrong kidney was removed. According to the patient, his medical reports indicated that he had a potentially cancerous mass on his left kidney. Therefore, he had surgery in order to remove his left kidney. Once the kidney was removed, it was tested to determine if it was cancerous.
This testing indicated that there was no mass on the kidney; the mass was actually on his right kidney. Further testing indicated that the right kidney was in fact cancerous. The patient is now left wondering what will happen now that his good kidney has been removed. It is possible that he will face dialysis, the need for expensive drugs or perhaps a kidney transplant.
A misdiagnosis of this nature does not occur every day throughout Illinois; however, when it does, it can cause numerous problems. In this case, the patient has filed a $1 million lawsuit against those who made the errors. Patients who feel they have been the victims of medical misdiagnosis will often face other medical issues as a result of the misdiagnosis. In addition to reviewing their medical options, they will also most likely want to review their legal options as well.
Source: CBS DFW, “Texas man says surgeons removed wrong kidney“, , June 12, 2014