A 22-year-old went to his primary care physician (PCP) complaining of symptoms consistent with a bacterial infection. He saw his PCP for weeks with the same complaints but the PCP misdiagnosed him as suffering from a viral infection. During that time, the plaintiff was also seen in a hospital that also failed to diagnose his bacterial infection. As a result of the PCP failing to diagnose and treat the man’s bacterial infection, he developed abscesses in his liver and brain that went undiagnosed and which resulted in a permanent brain injury and seizures.
The defense argued that the man’s symptoms were consistent with a viral infection. The defense further pointed to the hospital visit during which a bacterial infection was not diagnosed. The plaintiff’s expert countered that by the time of the plaintiff’s hospital visit, the harm from the PCP’s failure to diagnose and treat the bacterial infection had already occurred.
The plaintiff claimed in his Michigan medical malpractice lawsuit that his brain injury was permanent and that he would experience seizures for the rest of his life due to his PCP’s medical malpractice.
The parties to the Michigan medical malpractice lawsuit settled for $2.3 million.
Bacterial and Viral Infections
Bacteria are tiny organisms that consist of a single cell, and viruses are pieces of genetic material (DNA or RNA) contained in protein cases, both of which are among the most common causes of infection. Infections occur when viruses or bacteria invade the human host and proliferate. General symptoms like fever, fatigue, decreased appetite, and pain are common in both viral and bacterial infections.
Despite causing some of the same symptoms, bacteria and viruses require very distinct treatments: antivirals treat viruses, and antibacterials treat bacteria. Testing is needed to determine which microbe is causing illness so the right treatment can be prescribed. In the case of a bacterial infection, broad-spectrum antibiotics can attack multiple different pathogens while narrow-spectrum antibiotics target fewer, specific bacteria. Using the wrong treatment, such as an antibacterial to treat a virus, is ineffective and can be dangerous because bacteria and viruses can stop responding to the antibiotic medications used to combat them (which is called antimicrobial resistance). Antimicrobial resistance contributed to 4.95 million deaths worldwide in 2019.
It has been reported that more than 40% of family physicians were named in a malpractice lawsuit during their career. Diagnostic errors account for the majority of malpractice claims in primary care. The most common primary care malpractice claims alleged missed or delayed diagnoses involving cancer and myocardial infarction in adults, and meningitis in children. Medication errors were the second most common allegation of medical malpractice against primary care physicians.
If you or a loved one suffered a serious injury (or worse) as a result of PCP medical negligence in Michigan or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find a Michigan medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your primary care physician malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a PCP medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
Visit our website or call us toll-free in the United States at 800-295-3959 to be connected with medical malpractice attorneys in your state who may assist you.
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