When Pneumonia Is Misdiagnosed

Kim Porter, the ex-girlfriend and mother of rap mogul Sean “Diddy” Combs’ children, was found dead in her home on November 15, 2018. Porter, a Georgia native, had apparently been fighting pneumonia before her death, and the emergency services dispatched to her home described her status as being in cardiac arrest.

What is pneumonia?

Pneumonia is an infection typically causing inflammation in the lungs. Symptoms include fever, chills, aches, fatigue, shortness of breath, and cough. In general, pneumonia is easily treatable, but when left undiagnosed or misdiagnosed, it can become serious quickly. If your physician fails to treat your pneumonia, or treats the wrong condition, your illness can spiral out of control. Advanced pneumonia can lead to respiratory distress causing serious or even fatal side effects.

Can a doctor misdiagnose pneumonia?

Medical professionals can and do make mistakes. They could misread the results of a blood test or an x-ray leading to a missed diagnosis or improper treatment, or they could fail altogether to order any tests due to the faulty belief that you have a completely different illness. Pneumonia is often mistaken for the following:

• Influenza
• Acute bronchitis
• Upper respiratory infection
• Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

If your doctor or medical professional is negligent or careless, and you or a loved one suffers serious injury from undiagnosed pneumonia, you may be a victim of medical malpractice.

The Wall Street Journal reports that approximately 160,000 patients suffer from diagnostic errors due to doctor mistakes every year. Those errors accounted for nearly 35 percent of $39 billion in malpractice claim payouts over a 20-year period.

Harris Lowry Manton LLP stands up for patients who have been injured by medical malpractice in Savannah, Atlanta and throughout Georgia. We hold healthcare professionals responsible when they misdiagnose, fail to diagnose or otherwise cause our clients injury. Our Georgia medical malpractice attorneys work to ensure the safety of all patients.

If you or your loved one may have been a victim of medical malpractice, please call us today at 404-961-7650 at our Atlanta office, or in Savannah at 912-651-9967, or fill out our contact form.

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