Psychiatric Malpractice Lawsuit

Diagnosing mental health conditions is not always straightforward because mental health conditions cannot generally be detected using laboratory testing. Symptoms of mental illness also manifest differently from one patient to the next. Additionally, mental health symptoms may be caused by physical conditions.  

Accurately assessing patients and monitoring their results requires insight that can only be gained by allotting sufficient time to interview patients while observing response patterns and body language.  

Outpatient psychiatric visits are generally 15 minutes long, according to Psychology Today, except for a one-time longer visit during the initial assessment. This does not always provide sufficient time to make an accurate diagnosis.  

Despite the mental health connection, most psychiatrists do not offer psychotherapy. As a rule, psychiatrists do not collaborate with talk therapists, so their diagnoses are based on observations gained during excessively short windows of time and the patient’s communications.  

Commonly Misdiagnosed Disorders 

An Ethiopian study published in the Annals of General Psychiatry found that 39.16 percent of patients with severe psychiatric disorders were misdiagnosed. The most commonly misdiagnosed orders were as follows: 

According to Psycom, a mental health resource organization, women with bipolar disorder are more frequently misdiagnosed than men. Women suffer from bipolar disorder for an average of 11 years before receiving a diagnosis, compared to a seven-year delay for men. 

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder 

A study published by BMC Psychiatry found that as few as 11 percent of patients receiving primary care who meet the clinical criteria for post-traumatic stress disorder receive an accurate diagnosis. Of those who do, few receive adequate treatment, which would generally consist of talk therapy combined with medication.  

Borderline Personality Disorder 

Borderline personality disorder remains largely misunderstood in the mental health field, and misconceptions abound, including the erroneous beliefs that adolescents cannot have borderline personality disorder and that it does not occur in men.  

Borderline personality disorder is associated with a strong stigma in society in general and in the mental health field. It is one of the most frequently misdiagnosed disorders and is often misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder. Some clinicians refuse to treat it, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. 

What causes a psychiatric misdiagnosis? 

The prevalence of misdiagnosis in the mental health field may be explained by the lack of time spent with patients, the overlapping symptoms inherent in various mental health conditions, and personal biases. 

Rushed Diagnosis 

A common cause of psychiatric misdiagnosis is the failure to spend sufficient time with a patient to develop an accurate sense of the patient’s mental state. Before an accurate diagnosis can be made, a psychiatrist needs a comprehensive understanding of the patient’s history and current mental status. 

Unique Challenges in Diagnosing Mental Health Disorders 

Diagnosing mental health disorders can be challenging because the symptoms of one disorder often overlap with others. Symptoms also manifest differently in different people. For example, symptoms of depression may present as brain fog in one patient while another patient with depression exhibits suicidal thoughts.  

As a result, patients with similar symptoms may have highly variable diagnoses, and patients with highly variable symptoms may have the same disorder.  

While clinical diagnostic criteria do exist for psychiatric conditions, they are extensive, and symptoms must be considered in concert with the patient’s overall physical and mental health status. Physical maladies may cause symptoms that appear related to mental health or vice versa.  

For example, a patient with chest pain could be suffering symptoms of a heart attack or anxiety. A patient with a traumatic brain injury may present symptoms that mimic bipolar disorder, according to Amen Clinics, a psychiatric organization. 

Unconscious Bias 

Internal prejudices are prevalent in nearly every facet of society, and unfortunately, the medical profession is no exception. This is apparent in rampant disparities in diagnosis: 

• African Americans are more likely than white and Hispanic patients to be diagnosed with schizophrenia, despite the evidence failing to show that Black people are more likely than others to have schizophrenia. 
• Women are more likely than men to have pain diagnosed as psychological in origin, according to Pain Research and Management.  

• Symptoms of depression in Black women often include insomnia and irritability rather than more stereotypical symptoms like hopelessness, resulting in a higher incidence of missed diagnoses, according to NYU. 

Lack of Informed Consent 

As a patient, you have a right to understand the treatment being prescribed, including the risks and benefits. It is illegal for a psychiatrist to compel you to take medication without your consent.  

You have the right to refuse treatment, and it is illegal for a psychiatrist to resort to deceptive or threatening tactics to compel you to accept treatment, whether you are an inpatient or an outpatient.  

A study by the Indian Journal of Medical Research found that psychiatric patients with major medical disorders are often competent enough to understand their treatment options and make decisions about their care.