Blood Tests Failed to Detect My Illness: Can I Sue in Baltimore?

Doctors frequently use blood tests to detect illnesses. If your blood tests come back negative, you might initially breathe a sigh of relief. But what happens if your blood test results are incorrect? What if you receive a “false positive” or a “false negative?” These inaccurate results might cause you to receive unnecessary treatment for an illness you never had. You might also fail to get crucial early treatment for an illness that should have been detected by your blood test. Who is responsible for this serious mistake? Can you sue for medical malpractice in Owings Mills?

Blood Tests Are Notoriously Inaccurate in the United States

 Most people have no idea how inaccurate blood tests truly are. A recent study published by the National Institutes of Health suggests that more than 50% of all blood tests from family doctors could be false positives. The Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine refers to inaccurate test results as a “dirty little secret” of the healthcare industry, highlighting countless incidents where people were provided with false negatives or false positives. Regardless of who you are or what illness you’re concerned about, medical tests may be much less reliable than doctors imply.

Can You Sue for False Blood Test Results?

Suing for false blood test results could be possible in Maryland, and many of these lawsuits have proven successful. One of the most recent lawsuits like this involved a blood testing company that knowingly provided fraudulent blood test results. This blatant fraud not only endangered lives, but it led to criminal charges. The founder was sentenced to 11 years in prison despite once being a rising star in the biotech industry.

Suing a doctor may be more challenging. Your family doctor does not carry out the actual testing process, and they almost always delegate this task to a third-party lab. The lab then provides your doctor with the results. If the lab’s negligence leads to false or inaccurate results, it doesn’t make sense to sue your doctor for medical malpractice. After all, the doctor simply reads the results that the lab provides. In this situation, it would make more sense to sue the testing lab – or any other negligent party who caused or contributed to your inaccurate results.

Both false positives and false negatives can lead to serious harm. A false negative can leave serious issues unaddressed – preventing you from obtaining treatment when you desperately need it. A false positive, on the other hand, can expose you to risky medical treatments you never needed in the first place.

Work with a Misdiagnosis Lawyer in Owings Mills 

There is no need to accept a costly and traumatic misdiagnosis. With help from Furman Honick Law, you can push back through proper legal channels and pursue the compensation you deserve. Whether you have received inaccurate blood tests, a botched X-ray, or any other misdiagnosis in Owings Mills, we can help. Book your consultation with our Baltimore misdiagnosis lawyers today to review your legal options in more detail.

Sources: 

ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5851398/

improvediagnosis.org/dxiq-column/medical-testings-dirty-little-secret-and-how-you-can-protect-yourself/