PATIENT SAFETY RESOURCE CENTER
#1 Patient Safety Concern: Dismissing Patient Complaints — also known as "Medical Gaslighting"
Report Identifies Top Ten Patient Safety Concerns for 2025
In its annual special report, ECRI identifies the Top 10 Patient Safety Concerns for 2025 identifying the #1 patient safety concern: Risks of Dismissing Patient, Family, and Caregiver Concerns. (Source)
Formerly known as Emergency Care Research Institute, ECRI is an independent, not-for-profit organization focused on improving healthcare safety and quality, which bases the list on its risk management experience including experts in medicine, nursing, pharmacy, patient safety, risk management and more.
ECRI cites a survey conducted in 2023 where more than 94% of respondents reported that they felt their symptoms were ignored or dismissed by a doctor. (Source)
Medical Gaslighting
Patients, family members and caregivers report that when they feel their complaints are not being taken seriously it can feel like “medical gaslighting.” The American Journal of Medicine defines medical gaslighting as “an act that invalidates a patient's genuine clinical concern without proper medical evaluation, because of physician ignorance, implicit bias, or medical paternalism." (Source)
The term medical gaslighting may be overreaching, as doctors and caregivers do not necessarily intentionally discount patient complaints. However dismissing patient concerns carries with it very real and harmful consequences, and “is often due to the physician's lack of awareness or understanding of disease entities, preconceived notions about specific clinical presentations, subliminal/unconscious bias toward certain patient populations, or simply arrogance in presuming physician superiority in clinical knowledge and decision-making.” (Source)
Dismissing patient concerns can lead to delayed and missed diagnoses, and tends to occur more often among populations such as women and people of color, as well as patients who are older, heavier, disabled or LGBTQ.
How to spot medical gaslighting
An article published by Harvard Medical School offers tips on how to spot medical gaslighting with steps to help counter it. It identifies some medical gaslighting "red flags"if your healthcare provider:
- doesn't listen or interrupts you
- diminishes your symptoms
- blames your symptoms on your age, gender, weight, lifestyle habits, or sexual orientation
- says your symptoms probably are due to anxiety, depression, or stress
- rushes you through an appointment.
The article offers a classic example: “a 70-year-old who is worried about having more than usual body aches and low energy, whose clinician says that it's probably just aging, without ordering any tests.” (Source)
Lawsuits involving patient complaints not being taken seriously
Lubin & Meyer has successfully represented many patients whose claims stem from health complaints not being taken seriously by their medical providers. Says founding partner, Andrew C. Meyer Jr., “Physicians, PAs and nurses have a duty to listen — and when they don’t, the consequences can be devastating for patients and their families. Medical providers must recognize that listening isn’t optional — it’s the foundation to providing safe, responsible care. Dismissing symptoms without proper evaluation or testing isn’t just careless — it can be life-threatening.”
Below are a few examples of recent cases Lubin & Meyer has handled.
Example 1: Lubin & Meyer attorneys Adam R. Satin and Lynn I. Hu recently won a verdict of $17 million at trial in a case where a patient's complaints were brushed off. It involved a woman whose elective hernia surgery resulted in death when her post-surgery complaints were not taken seriously. She developed septic shock as was dead 5 days following the surgery, due to perforation of her small bowel causing an infection.
Read about this case:
Elective Hernia Surgery Death: $17 Million Verdict
Lawsuit claimed botched surgery and disregard of patient's post-operative complaints by Brigham Surgical Associates' surgeon resulted in the death of a 57-year-old woman — 5 days after elective hernia surgery.
Example 2: Another recent case, brought by Attorney William J. Thompson, resulted in a $1.5 million settlement for a patient who complained of headaches including a sudden "worst headache of her life" while being treated with blood thinners. Due to her complaints not being acted on more quickly, she suffered an aneurysm resulting in permanent neurological injuries.
Read more about this case:
Delay in Diagnosis of Aneurysm: $1.5 Million Settlement
Permanent neurological injuries caused by brain hemorrhage from delay in diagnosis of aneurysm.
Example 3: Attorney Robert M. Higgins recently represented a woman who suffered permanent injuries from cauda equina syndrome. Despite her symptoms including severe back pain, numbness, and bladder incontinence, two different doctors failed to order an MRI of her spine or refer her to a specialist.
Said Higgins, "Unfortunately, failing to diagnose this dangerous spinal condition is more common than it should be. It happens when health care providers do not take patient symptoms and complaints as seriously as they should, and misdiagnose their condition as common back pain."
Read more:
Cauda Equina Syndrome: Dangerous Spinal Condition Results in Permanent Injuries When Patient Complaints Are Not Taken Seriously
Recent medical malpractic lawsuit results in $2.5 million settlement
View more Verdicts & Settlements
Questions about a delay in diagnosis and treatment due to healthcare providers not responding to patient symptoms and complaints?
Lubin & Meyer's medical malpractice attorneys are available to answer your questions related to serious injuries and death due to a patient's or caregiver's concerns not being taken seriously by medical staff.
Contact Us - There is no fee or cost to you to have your case evaluated by our experience legal and medical team. Call (617) 720-4447 to speak with an attorney today.
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