Doctors Said Her Pain Was All in Her Head. They Missed Her Cancer.

Delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis cases are some of the most tragic types of medical malpractice, as well as some of the most infuriating. Knowing that a serious or fatal condition may have been prevented if a medical professional had done their job properly is heartbreaking to come to terms with. Unfortunately, this happens to patients on a regular basis, and Tori Geib’s story is one example that she has bravely chosen to share with the world.

“Surely all these doctors couldn’t be wrong”

Tori had been experiencing chronic back pain for about a year, visiting three rheumatologists to find a diagnosis. Doctors either didn’t take her seriously, suggested an auto-immune disease like fibromyalgia, or prescribed her anti-depressants. Eventually she ended up in urgent care for severe pain, where she was given anti-inflammatories and suggested she may be “overdoing it” at work.

Unsurprisingly, even Tori started wondering if her back pain was all in her head. Then she realized, of course it was real. She told Health magazine, “Surely all these doctors couldn’t be wrong; after all, they were the experts. But deep down, I knew this was real, physical pain. I didn’t know what was causing my back to hurt so badly, but I knew one thing: I didn’t feel like myself.”

A shocking cancer diagnosis

A short time after her visit to urgent care, Tori discovered a mass in her breast. After a biopsy, she received a diagnosis of metastatic breast cancer. While getting a second opinion with an oncologist, Tori mentioned her chronic back pain, where a CT scan revealed that the cancer had spread to her spine. “Someone finally gave me an answer that explained why my back had hurt so much, confirming that it wasn’t all in my head,” she said. However, that feeling was quickly replaced by fear and anger. “All I could think was, How long has this been going on?”

Later, after going through her medical records, she found something even more disturbing. In Tori’s words: “A note had been left in my medical records by one of the doctors I had seen for the back pain. It mentioned that ‘suspicious lesions’ were found on my spine and hip bone after a scan I had a year earlier. No one ever followed up or told me about this.”

Currently, Tori is maintaining her quality of life while she lives with this type of breast cancer, which typically has a life expectancy of 18 to 36 months, with 22 percent of patients surviving up to five years. Our office wishes Ms. Geib the best.

Statistics about failure to diagnose and misdiagnosis

According to researchers from Johns Hopkins Medicine, diagnostic errors are the most frequent type of medical error in the United States. A study by the Institute Center for Diagnostic Excellence at Johns Hopkins found that between 40,000 and 80,000 deaths in hospitals each year may be related to misdiagnosis, as well as 80,000 to 160,000 serious injuries or harm to patient health.

There are three conditions that make up nearly three-quarters of all serious injuries and harm to patients from misdiagnosis – infections, vascular events, and cancers, including breast cancers like Tori Geib’s. Cancers accounted for over one-third of diagnostic errors.

The cause of most misdiagnoses? According to the study, clinical judgment failures.

Compensation for medical misdiagnosis in Maryland

Whether you received the wrong diagnosis, a delayed diagnosis, or no diagnosis at all, if you experienced harm as a result, you may be eligible for a medical malpractice claim. Your medical condition could be overlooked or mistaken for another issue if a health professional makes an error like:

• Failure to consider patient’s medical history
• Failure to perform proper tests or follow-up
• Misinterpreting or mixing up lab results

Under Maryland law, victims of malpractice may claim compensation for their injuries and losses, including:

• Medical expenses
• Lost income and future wages
• Pain and suffering

The statute of limitations for a medical malpractice action is three years from the discovery of the injury from a medical mistake or five years from the injury (whichever is earlier).

Were you or a loved one a victim of medical malpractice? The attorneys at Plaxen Adler Muncy, P.A. can help hold the right people accountable for their negligence, and demand the compensation you deserve. To schedule a free consultation about your case, give our Maryland offices a call today at 410-730-7737 or use our contact form.