Connecticut Glaucoma Failure to Diagnose Attorney
Your vision is precious. Any damage to your eyes can have devastating effects. However, several eye disorders, including glaucoma, can be especially dangerous because you may not notice any symptoms until irreversible damage has already occurred. Therefore, it is vital for medical professionals to timely perform adequate tests.
Glaucoma is the name for a group of diseases that cause degeneration in the eye, leading to blindness. Because early-stage glaucoma has few to no symptoms, it can escape diagnosis, especially if eye care providers are not alert for signs of the condition.
The three main types of glaucoma are:
- Primary Open-Angle Glaucoma: The most common type. The intraocular pressure, the pressure of the inner eye, rises when clogged drainage canals inside the eye cannot drain enough fluid. If doctors don’t catch this type of glaucoma in time, you can lose your vision. There are no symptoms and it can take years for you to lose vision, so it is more challenging to diagnose. However, if diagnosed correctly, this type of glaucoma is very treatable with medication.
- Angle-Closure Glaucoma: This type of glaucoma is less common. It is also known as acute glaucoma. It occurs when drainage canals in the eye become completely covered, causing eye pressure to build very quickly. There are a few symptoms of this type of glaucoma such as a narrow iris, headaches, seeing rainbows around lights, and blurry vision. You may also experience pain. Surgery is needed to remove part of the iris to unblock the drainage canals. With quick treatment, your vision can return to normal and your symptoms will cease.
- Normal-Tension Glaucoma: This type of glaucoma has a strong genetic component. Those with a family history of the disease and those with Japanese ancestry are particularly susceptible. In this form, eye pressure is normal, but the optic nerve sustains damage. You may experience loss of vision or changes in your areas of perception. This form of glaucoma also requires prompt care and the correct combination of medication and surgery can return a person’s vision to normal.
Other types of glaucoma include traumatic glaucoma, which occurs when the eye is injured; secondary glaucoma, in which another disease causes the glaucoma; and congenital glaucoma, in which a child is born with the condition.
If your doctor failed to diagnose your glaucoma correctly, you are entitled to seek compensation. Without treatment, glaucoma can cause pain, vision loss, and blindness. The longer you wait to correct the problem, the more extensive surgeries and expensive medications you may need. Also, prompt treatment of glaucoma is absolutely essential and critical, as medical professionals who treat glaucoma patients well know. Failure to act professionally and promptly can lead to unnecessary loss of vision. When you are being cared for by such professionals, they owe you a reasonable duty of care to protect your sight.
At Kocian Law Group, our medical malpractice attorneys in Connecticut will help you recover your losses. Give us a call for a free consultation.
