Filing A Malpractice Claim For Misdiagnosis Of Ectopic Pregnancy

Ectopic pregnancy is a complication that many women experience. Not only is the baby unable to develop and survive, but this condition can also pose a danger to the woman if it's not identified promptly. As such, misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosing the condition can be fatal or cause unnecessary health complications. 

When this occurs, the patient and their family are entitled to receive compensation by filing a malpractice claim for misdiagnosis of ectopic pregnancy. 

What is an ectopic pregnancy?

This condition occurs when an egg gets fertilized outside the uterus, such as in the fallopian tube. Even though the egg is fertilized and the embryo will start developing, the baby can’t grow to full term outside the uterus. 

Although there’s no way to determine the clear cause of these pregnancies, there are plenty of risk factors that increase the chances of developing this condition, including:

• Fallopian tube surgeries
• Fertility treatments
• Pregnancy occurring after the use of contraception such as IUS or IUD
• Smoking
• Pelvic inflammatory disease
• Pregnancies after the age of 35

The biggest risk surrounding this condition is rupture. This can occur when the embryo grows too big for the fallopian tube and can lead to severe internal bleeding. 

Ectopic pregnancy symptoms

An ectopic pregnancy may go on for several weeks without any symptoms appearing. Generally speaking, in most cases symptoms can appear after the 4th week of the pregnancy. 

Some of the signs include:

• Missed periods
• Abdominal pain
• Brown or watery vaginal discharge
• Vaginal bleeding 
• Painful urination and defecation
• Painful shoulders

Unfortunately, these symptoms overlap with other conditions, such as:

• Ovarian cyst hemorrhages
• Cyst torsions or ruptures
• UTIs
• Pelvic inflammatory diseases
• Appendicitis
• Miscarriage
• Diverticulitis

Due to the non-specific nature of these symptoms, ectopic pregnancies are sometimes misdiagnosed. This is why medical professionals need to recognize the signs, ask the right questions, and perform relevant tests. 

Some of the tests include:

• Ultrasound scan
• Laparoscopy (a procedure where the womb and fallopian tubes are examined)
• Bloodwork to test for the presence of human chorionic gonadotropin hormone and whether the amounts diverge from regular pregnancies

The most common symptoms of a rupture are generally extreme and require immediate surgery:

• Intense pain in the abdomen
• Fainting 
• Nausea
• Paleness
• Peritonitis

Determining whether the actions of the physician were up to standard in response to the symptoms outlined above is the key aspect of determining whether negligence occurred in the misdiagnosis of ectopic pregnancy.

Dangers of misdiagnosed ectopic pregnancy

As mentioned previously, the biggest danger of misdiagnosed ectopic pregnancy is a rupture. Aside from being traumatic and painful, a rupture could cause significant blood loss and an infection, making the condition potentially fatal. 

While rare, death is a common risk if a misdiagnosis of ectopic pregnancy occurs. 

In addition to establishing a proper diagnosis, doctors must closely monitor the patient to check whether the condition will resolve naturally because not all cases require aggressive treatment. This is why it’s unfortunate that in some circumstances patients require medication or surgery to resolve the pregnancy. 

How are ruptured ectopic pregnancies treated?

There are plenty of ways to treat the condition before a rupture even occurs, such as:

• Expectant management - keeping a close eye on the condition to ascertain if the egg will dissolve naturally
• Medication - injecting methotrexate is effective in preventing the embryo from growing, thereby minimizing the chance of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy
• Laparoscopy - invasive keyhole surgery that’s conducted under a general anesthetic. It involves removing the embryo from the fallopian tube. 

If a rupture occurs, surgery is the only recourse possible. 

Considering the misdiagnosis of ectopic pregnancy eliminates other treatments, it carries with it the following risks:

• Scarring due to surgery
• Loss of the fallopian tube which could have been saved with medication. This leads to fertility issues and often requires expensive IVF treatment if the patient wants to conceive again.
• Complete loss of fertility if the fallopian tube isn’t removed completely
• Medical costs and other financial damages such as loss of earnings, which often exceed the cost of a keyhole surgery or methotrexate

Do you have a valid ectopic pregnancy misdiagnosis claim?

If a physician misdiagnoses an ectopic pregnancy, you may have the right to file a medical malpractice claim.

This is a civil suit brought against doctors who caused injuries to their patients through negligence. Strict standards need to be met for the case to be considered valid. A negative outcome isn’t always considered medical malpractice and injuries can happen even if a physician followed all standard protocols.

Valid malpractice claims have the following elements:

• Existence of a doctor-patient relationship
• The medical professional acted negligently
• The medical professional caused an injury
• A breach of standards of care occurred
• The negligent event caused the injury

An attorney must also prove causation or that a medical professional’s misdiagnosis directly led to your injury. 

File a claim now

There are plenty of ways negligence can occur in the context of ectopic pregnancies. For instance, misdiagnosis of ectopic pregnancy and failure to establish a fast diagnosis are very common. 

Sadly, due to the complexity of the subject matter involved, you need to hire an attorney to file a successful malpractice case. For instance, here at Sowell Chakour, our leading legal team includes a former surgeon. This provides our clients with an unprecedented level of service.

Moreover, we often consult medical experts who can identify whether your malpractice case is valid and how likely it is you’ll recover compensation. 

Hence, if you believe your doctor was negligent when handling your ectopic pregnancy and caused injuries that required surgery to address, our attorneys will help you piece together what happened, collect the necessary evidence, and ultimately, present your case at court. 

We’ve handled many ectopic pregnancy malpractice cases and it’s our mission to right the wrongs Florida citizens suffered due to a medical professional’s negligence. With a dedicated legal team at your disposal, you can increase your chances of winning and recovering favorable compensation.

Schedule a case evaluation - call (833) 633-6257 or fill out our contact form.

Note: 

The information in this blog post is for reference only and not legal advice. As such, you should not make legal decisions based on the information in this blog post. Moreover, there is no lawyer-client relationship resulting from this blog post, nor should any such relationship be implied. If you need legal counsel, please consult a lawyer licensed to practice in your jurisdiction.