Have You Been Incorrectly Diagnosed?

When you are in a motor vehicle accident and have to seek medical help, you expect it to be competent. You expect to get the right diagnosis and the right treatment. Sadly, many who have sustained injuries as the result of motor vehicle accidents are misdiagnosed, discharged early without adequate treatment, and then denied the assistance to which they are entitled from the Insurance Commission of Western Australia (ICWA).

Claims for weekly payments or medical expenses that are filed weeks or months subsequent to a motor vehicle accident are being denied because hospitals misdiagnosed or didn’t detect the injuries during the initial examination.

This is because many hospitals tell victims of motorcycle, car or bicycle accidents that there is no damage according to their tests and that their pain will subside in a few days. If an emergency patient comes in with no visible damage, the hospital often tries to treat them and discharge them as quickly as possible.

Instead of sophisticated tests such as MRI’s, hospitals use X-rays, which often aren’t enough to uncover structural damage. With no evidence of damage, the patient is sent home with instructions to notify a doctor if their condition worsens. Often, though, the condition doesn’t begin to worsen until weeks later.

Then, back, neck or shoulder pain often begins to appear. This is usually due to soft tissue or ligament damage that occurs between the bones and won’t show up on an X-ray. This kind of damage only shows up on more sophisticated equipment such as ultrasound, a CT scan or MRI.

This leaves the accident victim in a bad situation: stuck with a painful medical condition that can affect work performance. Worse yet, it can handicap them while trying to complete routine tasks in their everyday lives. Meanwhile, they will have to pay medical expenses out of pocket, often while being unable to work, with no temporary living allowance.

To prevent this, you should always do two things. First, consult your GP as soon as possible after the hospital visit. Then, you should always obtain qualified legal advice from a compensation lawyer.

A misdiagnosed injury can cost you money. If you have a motor vehicle accident; make Bradford Legal your first call: (08) 9316 2299.