For many in Providence County, the value placed on a second medical opinion may not be high due to the assumption that doctors may tend to support each other’s diagnoses no matter what. It should be remembered, however, that a doctor’s first responsibility is ensuring the well-being of his or her patients, not protecting a contemporary’s reputation. In fact, some patients may find other doctors to be among their strongest advocates in remedying any wrong done to them.
An example of this appears to be unfolding at a Kansas hospital, where a doctor employed there has taken the drastic action suing the facility itself. The driving force behind his decision was due to an error made by a colleague that resulted in a patient not only being erroneously diagnosed with cancer, but also having an organ removed unnecessarily. In his complaint, the doctor goes on to say that steps where then taken to cover up the error, even to the point that the patient still does not know about the misdiagnosis. His lawsuit goes on to say that after bringing the error to the attention of the facility’s chief medical officer, nothing was done. He ultimately chose to inform the Joint Commission of the situation, a decision which later allegedly led to the hospital president retaliating against him.
Relying on a doctor’s opinion after having been potentially misdiagnosed by another may not be easy. Yet it may provide one with the clinical evidence needed to confirm such an error. Using such evidence to successfully pursue a claim of medical malpractice may still be difficult, yet not impossible of one has an experienced attorney on his or her side.