Not all accidents result in catastrophic injuries, but that does not mean that minor injuries do not require immediate attention and necessary medical care. Individuals who suffer a fall, experience blunt force trauma, deal with sports injuries, or are victims of car accidents may sustain soft tissue damage. Soft tissue injuries can involve damage to the ligaments, muscles, or tendons. While soft tissue trauma usually coincides with fractures, it can occur even without broken bones. Again, these injuries can be serious, such as when someone suffers a significant tear to their knee ligaments. Unfortunately, soft tissue injuries are sometimes misdiagnosed. If a doctor misdiagnosed your condition, working with an experienced team of medical malpractice lawyers like those at McCoy & Hiestand, PLC can help you achieve justice.
Questions immediately arise about why a doctor or healthcare provider might miss or misdiagnose a soft-tissue injury. There are several reasons why.
Troubles with X-Rays
Typically, when someone suffers impact-related trauma, they will go to the emergency room, where the doctors will perform an examination. Often, the physician will request X-rays of the injured area to determine whether the patient suffers from one or more broken bones. While X-rays can be effective at identifying breaks and fractures, they are less effective at detecting soft-tissue damage. The X-ray machine can detect signs of soft-tissue injuries, such as swelling, but overall, X-rays are not reliable for detecting soft-tissue damage. It is essential that the attending physicians accurately diagnose the injury.
Now, a doctor could determine the presence of soft-tissue injury after a close examination. Swelling or changes in bone alignment may strongly suggest the type of soft-tissue injury the patient sustained. However, there can be oversights when the doctor performs the necessary examination.
In short, the doctor may misdiagnose or fail to diagnose the soft-tissue injury, which is not insignificant. A small tear could become far worse if left untreated. Further damage may occur if the patient continues with strenuous or even routine daily activities, unaware of how serious the problem is. For example, someone struggling with a partial knee ligament tear may buckle and collapse if the tear worsens. In addition to the knee injury, the person might sustain further injuries from a fall.
Thankfully, there is another option for determining soft-tissue damage. While ligament tears and muscle strains are not visible on a standard X-ray, they may appear on a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). An MRI can effectively detect soft-tissue injuries, but it is not commonly used during initial injury assessments. However, the doctor might not refer the patient or even suggest one. Such an oversight could be considered malpractice.
Doctors and Staff Contributing to the Misdiagnosis
Other issues can lead to an incorrect diagnosis, such as the physician being overly fatigued or dealing with the fallout of poor communication in the trauma center. Outright inexperience can be a factor. While these may be reasons for failing to diagnose a soft-tissue injury properly, they do not mean the physicians and staff are without fault.
Sometimes, extenuating factors can lead to a misdiagnosis. The doctor may also focus on anything life-threatening or more blatantly severe, such as a compound fracture in the foot. Still, this does not excuse the physician from making an improper diagnosis or recommending a follow-up examination.
The Serious Issue of Improper Diagnoses
Again, not treating a soft tissue injury can lead to complications. The pain may become prolonged, which would be a clear indicator that something is wrong and not healing. These issues could become chronic if untreated or if the condition worsens. Chronic problems might develop into long-term complications. Others may experience reduced mobility, unrelenting pain, and other issues.
Those who feel a physician failed to diagnose their soft-tissue injury may explore legal avenues for compensation. The compensation may address pain and suffering, as well as financial losses.
