Woman files lawsuit against Florida hospital for misdiagnosis

A woman has sued a Florida hospital after they allegedly misdiagnosed her with rectal cancer, leading them to perform unnecessary surgery. According to the news release, the woman claimed that the surgery was performed after the hospital mixed up her lab results and misdiagnosed her with cancer.

The woman was reportedly asking the hospital to turn over her medical records, which she claimed will show how a tissue sample that was taken during a routine colonoscopy was confused with someone else’s. As a result of the mix-up, she claimed that she underwent four unnecessary surgeries.

In addition to the reportedly unneeded surgeries, the woman also stated that the misdiagnosis gave her five months of emotional trauma. She stated that the misdiagnosis led her to believe that she had an aggressive form of cancer that would likely be fatal. At the time the report was released, representatives for the hospital where the incident took place declined to comment as they stated that they did not comment on pending lawsuits. However, they did state that they were aware of the case pending against the hospital.

When someone is given a misdiagnosis, there is a chance that the patient is treated or has surgery performed on them in an attempt to correct a condition that they did not have. If this happens and the patient suffered physical or emotional harm as a result, they may be eligible to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the staff members who caused the misdiagnosis and the hospital where the misdiagnosis took place. By filing this type of lawsuit, the injured patient may be able to seek compensation for damages that include unnecessary medical costs and pain and suffering.

Source: WFTV, “Woman accuses Florida Hospital of cancer misdiagnosis, unnecessary rectal surgery”, September 03, 2014