Personal Injury Law

M.R.I.s Do Not Always Find Injury

By Steven M. Levin and John J. Perconti

One woman had an MRI performed on her foot after she injured her forefoot running. The MRI at a local radiology center found nothing wrong, so she decided to take an anti-inflammatory and do low-impact workouts. However, when the pain got worse she saw a sports doctor who performed another MRI, and she discovered she had a stress fracture in her foot. This happened to another man who had an MRI that did not reveal he had a nerve impingement that was so serious that he warned permanent paralysis if he did not have surgery. Oftentimes, patients are not made aware of the nature of the injuries because the MRIs are inconclusive. MRI?s differ because the quality of the imaging coils they put around the body part being scanned and the computer programs they use to control the imaging and to analyze the images all differ. Additionally, there is a huge variability in skill among the technicians doing the scans. Experts recommend that patients should go to radiology centers accredited by the American College of Radiology. They also state that you should check the credentials of the radiologist who read your scans. By using this advice, patients can avoid the risk of misdiagnosis and decrease the need for medical malpractice suits. To read the full story, click here.

Full post as published by Illinois Medical Malpractice Blog on October 15, 2008 (boomark / email).