Failure to properly interpret CT scan
A 31-year-old woman came to a stand-alone emergency center reporting excruciating shoulder and neck pain.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose arterial thrombosis
A 60-year-old man came to the ED with severe right foot pain.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose and treat knee infection
A 67-year-old man came to Orthopedic Surgeon A for right knee pain and stiffness.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose fracture
An eight-year-old boy came with his mother to a local ED with pain in his lower left leg from a fall earlier that day.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose and treat complications
A 16-year-old girl was brought to the emergency department after sustaining a leg injury while playing soccer. X-rays revealed a right bimalleolar ankle fracture dislocation.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose cornual pregnancy
A 33-year-old woman came to the ED reporting bilateral abdominal pain, back pain, and shortness of breath.
Read Article
Diagnostic Errors
Case study and current research on the prevalence of diagnostic errors, common causes, and ways to prevent these types of errors.
Read Article
Delay in the diagnosis of lung cancer
A 62-year old man came to the ED with symptoms of a stroke.
Read Article
Delay in diagnosing breast cancer
A 77-year-old woman came to her family physician reporting a lump in her right breast.
Read Article
Failure to confirm diagnosis of polycythemia vera
A 40-year-old man came to an internal medicine physician and reported feeling weak and tired.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose and treat
A 35-year-old man came by ambulance to the ED reporting headache and dizziness.
Read Article
Delay in diagnosing colon cancer
The patient claimed that the physician told him that the rectal bleeding was due to his diverticulosis and was not life threatening.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose retained sponge
A 55-year-old woman was admitted to a hospital in New Mexico for a colostomy reversal.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose and treat infection
A 72-year-old woman with a history of diabetes came to the ED due to pain in her left eye.
Read Article
Failure to report misplaced central line
A 64-year-old woman came to the ED. She had undergone back surgery five days earlier.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose a foreign body and to follow up
An eight-year-old girl was brought to the ED with a groin injury from a bicycle accident.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose anemia
A 17-month-old girl was brought her pediatrician to complete vaccinations, a visit documented as “vaccines only.”
Read Article
Failure to diagnose postpartum stroke
The first documented assessment of the patient in the ED revealed a temperature of 97.9 degrees; pulse 53; respirations 20; blood pressure 147/77 mm Hg; oxygen saturation 97%.
Read Article
Failure to diagnose and treat fungal infection
The patient sought treatment from a dermatologist for a scaly plaque on his scalp
Read Article
Failure to diagnose mandible fracture
On June 1, a 35-year-old woman fell while stepping off a boat, injuring her chin, jaw, wrist, and hand. She went to an urgent-care clinic for treatment.
Read Article
