Puerto Rico VA & Military Misdiagnosis Malpractice Attorneys

When veterans and military families in Puerto Rico seek medical care at federal facilities, they trust that their symptoms will be properly evaluated and diagnosed. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis—including delayed diagnosis, missed diagnosis, and incorrect diagnosis—occurs at alarming rates in military and VA medical centers, often with devastating consequences for patients and their families.

A BMJ Quality & Safety study found that diagnostic errors affect 12 million U.S. adults yearly, especially in critical cases like cancer, heart attacks, and infections. Our founding attorney is both a licensed doctor and lawyer, combining medical and legal expertise. This combination offers valuable insight into FTCA cases and medical standards of care. We identify medical negligence others might miss by reviewing records with a physician's clinical knowledge. Our attorney's medical training helps us communicate with medical experts and understand diagnostic protocols, which is crucial for building strong misdiagnosis cases. Combining legal advocacy and medical insight ensures our clients are represented by someone who understands medical malpractice litigation.

If you or a loved one was harmed by a misdiagnosis at a Puerto Rico VA medical center or military hospital, you have legal rights under the FTCA. These federal claims require specialized knowledge of both medical standards and complex federal procedures that differ significantly from civilian malpractice cases.

• Inadequate Patient History Review: When healthcare providers fail to thoroughly review a patient's medical history, family history, or previous test results, they may miss critical diagnostic clues. This negligence is particularly problematic in VA settings where veterans may have complex medical histories from military service. Proper history-taking is a fundamental medical standard that requires physicians to systematically gather and analyze all relevant patient information.

• Failure to Order Appropriate Diagnostic Tests: Medical negligence occurs when physicians fail to order necessary imaging studies, blood tests, or biopsies based on a patient's presenting symptoms. This leads to missed or delayed diagnosis of serious conditions. The standard of care requires physicians to consider differential diagnoses and order appropriate tests to rule out serious conditions. This failure often stems from cognitive shortcuts or inadequate clinical reasoning that falls below acceptable medical standards.

• Misinterpretation of Test Results: Even when appropriate tests are ordered, radiologists, pathologists, or treating physicians may negligently misread results, failing to identify signs of cancer, heart disease, or other serious medical conditions. These interpretation errors can occur due to inadequate training, fatigue, or failure to follow established protocols for reading diagnostic studies. The consequences of misreading critical test results can be devastating when treatable conditions progress to advanced stages.

• Communication Breakdowns Between Providers: In complex medical facilities, poor communication between specialists, primary care physicians, and nursing staff can result in critical information being overlooked or lost. These breakdowns often occur during shift changes, patient transfers, or when multiple specialists are involved in care. Effective communication systems and proper documentation are essential components of safe medical practice that prevent diagnostic errors.

• Cognitive Bias and Premature Closure: Physicians who make hasty decisions or don't reassess failed treatments often miss serious underlying conditions. This type of diagnostic error often involves anchoring bias, where physicians fixate on their initial impression without properly considering other possibilities. Medical standards require ongoing reassessment and consideration of alternative diagnoses when patients don't respond as expected.

• Inadequate Follow-up on Abnormal Findings: Medical malpractice occurs when healthcare providers fail to properly follow up on concerning symptoms, abnormal test results, or patient complaints of worsening condition. This negligence can involve failing to schedule appropriate follow-up appointments, not reviewing test results in a timely manner, or dismissing patient concerns without proper evaluation. Systematic follow-up protocols are essential for ensuring that abnormal findings receive appropriate attention and intervention.

Our firm represents veterans and military families who have suffered misdiagnosis at federal medical facilities throughout Puerto Rico. These facilities handle complex cases where diagnostic accuracy is critical for patient outcomes.

• VA Caribbean Healthcare System, San Juan: This major VA medical center provides comprehensive healthcare services to Puerto Rico veterans, where misdiagnosis can occur in emergency departments, specialty clinics, and inpatient settings.

• Naval Hospital Roosevelt Roads (when operational): Military treatment facilities often handle emergency cases where rapid diagnostic decisions are crucial, and errors in emergency medicine can have life-threatening consequences.

• Fort Buchanan Medical Clinic: Military medical facilities providing primary care services where failure to recognize serious symptoms or refer to specialists can result in delayed diagnosis of critical conditions.

View all Puerto Rico VA & Military Facilities

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