Brooklyn Municipal Liability Lawyer

Brooklyn Municipal Liability Lawyer

Lewy body dementia, a hard condition to diagnose

Perhaps you or a loved one in New York City had a condition misdiagnosed by a negligent doctor. Perhaps that error led to unnecessary treatments and irreversible physical harm as well as emotional suffering. Sadly, there’s a form of dementia that is particularly at risk for misdiagnosis, and it’s called Lewy body dementia.

LBD is not necessarily rare

The Lewy bodies referred to in the name are protein deposits that develop in brain cells and impair a person’s cognitive and motor skills. The symptoms, which include cognitive difficulties, trouble moving, apathy, depression and hallucinations, are not exactly unique to LBD. For this reason, many are misdiagnosed as having Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease or a psychiatric disorder.

Yet there are more than 1.4 million Americans with LBD, making it more widespread than muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy and ALS combined. Actor and comedian Robin Williams, who committed suicide in 2014, was known to have had LBD.

No unique patterns to discern

Doctors cannot speak of a “typical” LBD patient. They don’t know who gets it and how it is contracted, though they have seen several trends: First, that men more than women suffer from it; and second, that those over the age of 60 are especially prone to having it. It can affect the healthiest and most fit. Most patients live five to eight years after being diagnosed.

Diagnostic errors and malpractice law

Diagnostic errors are one of the leading forms of medical malpractice, along with surgical errors, and they can include misdiagnoses, delayed diagnoses and delays in the communication of a diagnosis. If the error you suffered from was clearly the result of negligence, then you may want a lawyer to take on your case and negotiate on your behalf for a fair settlement. If this fails to produce the desired results, you may consider litigation.