Patients undergo bloodwork, imaging, biopsies, and other diagnostic testing because the results can determine what happens next. An abnormal finding may require additional testing, a specialist referral, medication, surgery, or immediate treatment.
But what happens when the test identifies a potentially serious problem and no one follows up?
In some cases, patients do not discover the abnormal result until weeks or months later, after their condition has progressed. When a healthcare provider receives important test results but fails to communicate them or act appropriately, the resulting delay may raise questions about medical negligence.
At Gogel Law Firm, our St. Louis medical malpractice attorney helps patients and families determine whether failures in medical care contributed to preventable harm.
An Abnormal Result Is Often the Beginning, Not the End
A diagnostic test does not necessarily provide a final diagnosis. Instead, it may alert a healthcare provider that further investigation is necessary.
An abnormal mammogram, for example, may require additional imaging or a biopsy. Concerning bloodwork could warrant repeat testing or evaluation by a specialist. A suspicious pathology or imaging result may call for prompt treatment.
Problems can arise when the result reaches the medical provider, but the next step never happens.
The patient may assume that no news means everything was normal. Meanwhile, a condition that could have been investigated earlier may continue to worsen.
How Does Follow-Up Get Missed?
There is rarely only one way an abnormal result falls through the cracks.
Depending on the circumstances, problems may involve:
- A physician failing to review a test result.
- A patient never being told about an abnormal finding.
- A recommended follow-up test never being ordered.
- A referral being requested but never completed.
- A provider assuming someone else will contact the patient.
- An electronic alert being overlooked or dismissed.
The important question is not simply whether a system failed. A medical malpractice investigation may need to determine who was responsible for reviewing the result, what should have happened next, and whether the failure caused additional harm.
A Missed Follow-Up Can Change a Patient’s Medical Future
Not every delay causes an injury, and an abnormal result does not automatically mean malpractice occurred.
The consequences become particularly significant when earlier action could have changed the patient’s outcome. A delayed cancer diagnosis, untreated infection, missed cardiovascular condition, or other progressive illness may become more difficult to treat as time passes.
Missouri medical malpractice claims require more than showing that a healthcare provider made a mistake. The patient generally must establish that the provider failed to meet the applicable standard of care and that the failure caused or contributed to the injury.
That makes the timeline critical. When was the test performed? When did the provider receive the result? Who reviewed it? Was the patient notified? What follow-up was recommended, and when did treatment finally begin?
Missouri Law Specifically Addresses Failure to Inform Patients of Test Results
Timing can be especially important in these cases. Missouri generally imposes a two-year limitation period on medical malpractice actions. Still, state law includes a specific provision addressing a provider’s negligent failure to inform a patient of medical test results.
Under that provision, different timing considerations may apply when a patient later discovers that a provider failed to communicate test results. Additional statutory limitations can also affect how much time is available.
Patients who learn that an abnormal result went unaddressed should not assume it is too late to pursue a claim or that they automatically have additional time.
Talk to a St. Louis Medical Malpractice Attorney About a Missed Test Result
A patient should not have to discover months later that an important test result was sitting in a medical record while a serious condition went untreated.
If an abnormal test result was not communicated or appropriately followed up on and you suffered harm as a result, Gogel Law Firm can investigate what happened and help determine whether you may have a Missouri medical malpractice claim. Contact our St. Louis medical malpractice attorney today at (314) 742-3147 or online to schedule a free consultation.
