Misdiagnosis in New Jersey or another state occurs when the doctor fails to accurately diagnose a condition. Many diseases have similar symptoms, so doctors can make errors. Heart attack, lupus and strokes commonly get misdiagnosed, and doctors often miss Lewy body dementia.

Lewy body dementia

Lewy body dementia, also called Seaver's disease, is not rare in spite of it being an unfamiliar condition to most people. Over a million people get diagnosed with it annually. It has two main types: Lewy bodies and Parkinson's dementia.

Lewy body dementia is an aggressive condition that affects a person's memory and motor skills due to the proteins called Lewy bodies developing in brain cells. It often causes hallucinations, depression, sleep disorders, increased blood pressure and trouble concentrating.

While no typical patient exists, Lewy body dementia most often affects men, people over 60 more and people with a genetic link. It currently has no cure, but healthier patients tend to live longer with it.

How the disease gets misdiagnosed

Failure to diagnose Lewy body dementia can usually be traced to it mimicking symptoms of Alzheimer's and Parkinson's. This could cause doctors to use the wrong diagnostic testing or prescribe the wrong medicine.

Doctors commonly spend an average of 15 to 20 minutes with each patient, leaving less time for thorough discussions and studying medical history. They may give the patient with a common condition a test with the good intention of saving them money, but this could cause negative results with less common diseases. Some doctors might be incompetent at recognizing symptoms of the condition.

Doctors must provide the highest standard of care to their patients. Patients and families have a right to civil litigation when they feel a doctor has caused the problems. A medical malpractice lawyer may be able to advise them and work to prove their case.