Doctors throughout he nation make medical mistakes more than anyone likely wants to think about. These medical mistakes make take many forms including misdiagnoses. While often the condition a doctor fails to diagnose is more serious than what the patient actually has, medical malpractice lawsuits also can arise in situations where a doctor diagnoses a patient with a medical condition more serious than what they really have. As is the case with all medical malpractice lawsuits, depending on the circumstances surrounding the misdiagnoses, a lawsuit may be successful.

This was the case for a Pennsylvania man who succeeded in one such case. A jury awarded the man $10 million after a doctor diagnosed the man with Lou Gehrig’s Disease. In actuality, the man had a spinal cord compression injury which was correctly diagnosed several years later. The diagnoses of the fatal disease led to the man using a wheelchair. This use is now a permanent one as the failure of the man to seek appropriate treatment for the spinal injury resulted in permanent damage.

The hospital appealed the decision to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court which recently ruled on the matter. It denied the appeal leaving the $10 million verdict in place.

When a patient in the state of Pennsylvania suffers as a result of medical treatment from a doctor that is below the accepted standard of care, there may not be a way to undo that harm. For some however, pursing a medical malpractice claim results in compensation that makes living with those injuries easier to handle.

Source: The Pennsylvania Record, “Pa. Supreme Court declines to hear appeal in Phila. med mal case that ended with $10 million plaintiff’s verdict,” Jon Campisi, Sept. 17, 2013