Memphis Medical Malpractice Attorneys Discuss How Errors in Reading X-Rays Can Lead to Malpractice

Some of the most powerful tools that medical professionals can use to diagnose and treat people who come to them for care are things like x-rays, CAT scans, and MRIs, which enable them to see the inside of their patients’ bodies. Unfortunately, the ability to look inside of a patient’s body does not, on its own, help the patient to obtain the correct treatment for their injury or illness. Great skill and care must be used in interpreting the images that the diagnostic tools produce. When the requisite care is used in interpreting x-rays and other diagnostic images, patients are able to obtain the diagnoses and/or the treatments that they need. If the images are not interpreted correctly, diagnoses may be missed or made incorrectly, inappropriate treatments may be prescribed, and proper treatments may not be prescribed. In other words, an incorrect interpretation of an x-ray, MRI, or CAT scan could lead to a course of treatment that not only fails to help the patient’s condition improve, but possibly even allows the patient to become sicker and, in some cases, even die.

Many people associate the use of x-rays with the treatment of broken bones. While that is one of their most common uses, x-rays can also be used to assess the condition of soft tissue. They can reveal gall stones, kidney stones, and even cancer. When x-rays and other imaging technologies are used in the treatment of a patient, the radiology technicians become an important part of that patient’s medical treatment team. Radiologists not only administer the imaging tests, they interpret them and discuss their findings with the doctor who ordered them.

There are many things which can go wrong while performing or interpreting a medical imaging test. The test can be performed improperly, or administered on the wrong part of the body. Test results can be misinterpreted, or, in some cases, not interpreted thoroughly enough, potentially resulting in a missed diagnosis.  In one case, a woman who was experiencing trouble breathing had a chest x-ray. The chest x-ray was misinterpreted in such a way that a mass on her lung was not noted during the interpretation. She was a smoker and had a family history of lung cancer, but this was not taken into account during the medical review of her x-ray.  She was given a diagnosis of a respiratory infection and prescribed antibiotics for treatment. Eighteen months later, she was still experiencing pain and had another chest x-ray done. At that point, advanced lung cancer was visible and the mass had doubled in size. The woman eventually died as the result of lung cancer, but it is possible that she could have been saved if she had received immediate treatment following the initial chest x-ray.

If you or someone that you love has been injured or killed by an x-ray interpretation, it is essential that you get help from a Memphis Medical Malpractice Attorney right away. The knowledgeable Memphis Medical Malpractice Attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC are here to help you. We believe that the victims of medical negligence deserve top quality legal representation. To learn more about how we can help you, please call us at 901-680-9777 to schedule a time to discuss your case.  At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.

Leave a Comment

You must be logged in to post a comment.