The American College of Radiology defines a radiologist as a “doctor who specializes in diagnosing and treating diseases and injuries using medical imaging techniques, such as x-rays, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), nuclear medicine, positron emission tomography (PET) and ultrasound.” Radiologists play a critical role in the assessment of a patient in that subsequent healthcare professionals often rely on the radiologist’s interpretation of an x-ray, CT scan, MRI, or other radiographic image. Unfortunately, this means that when a radiologist has misinterpreted an image, any following courses of action may be modified based on the radiologist’s faulty analysis, which can lead to devastating results for a patient.
The majority of malpractice lawsuits involving radiology errors allege a failure to diagnose an ailment. If the radiologist fails to identify an abnormality in an image that is later able to seen retroactively by another radiologist or doctor, this heightens the odds that the original radiologist’s error was due to negligence.
There are many factors that can contribute to radiology errors. Some errors may be attributable to the radiologist, while others may be the result of poor hospital procedures and processes. The following are some of these individual and systemic factors:
- The radiologist makes an abnormal finding, but attributes the finding to the wrong cause
- The radiologist missed a finding that was identifiable
- The radiologist made a correct finding, but failed to properly communicate the finding to the necessary healthcare professional(s)
- After identifying one abnormality, the radiologist prematurely ends the examination and misses other abnormalities
- The equipment used to perform the examination of the images is outdated or otherwise inadequate
- There is a shortage of qualified professionals to examine the images, resulting in either an excess workload for those who are available or the use of teleradiology
Do You Know Who Will Interpret YOUR X-Rays?
A problem that has become increasingly more common is the use of a procedure known as teleradiology, where a patient’s radiographic images are transmitted from one location to another for another radiologist or doctor to study. This practice may be frequently used by smaller hospitals that simply cannot afford the luxury of an on-site radiologist who can interpret the images. The radiologist or doctor to whom the patient’s images are transmitted may be in another city, state, or even another country. That radiologist or doctor often may not have the entire context necessary to fully comprehend the images he is viewing in order to offer his best medical assessment. Another problem with teleradiology is that the radiographic images may be contracted out to an outside company with no affiliation with the hospital at all. When outsourcing occurs, the frightening possibility exists that the person examining the radiographic images may be absolutely unqualified to do so.
Contact Pita Weber Del Prado for Your Radiologist Error Concerns
At Pita Weber Del Prado we use a combination of skill and experience to help our clients achieve the best possible results. We invite you to contact us in our Miami office for a free, confidential consultation. To get started, call our Miami radiologist error lawyers today at 305-670-2889.
