Every day, thousands of Ohio residents seek medical treatment for a variety of illnesses and ailments. In some cases, patients may have symptoms that signify a more serious underlying medical condition. Oftentimes, however, doctors choose to merely treat bothersome symptoms and fail to run necessary blood and diagnostic tests to determine if a patient has a more serious or chronic medical problem.

Early diagnosis is key in treating potentially fatal conditions such as cancer, meningitis and heart disease. Yet, according to a new study, far too many doctors are failing to diagnose these medical conditions. As a result, misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose has grown to be the number one reason for most medical malpractice lawsuits.

When dealing with medical conditions such as cancer and heart attacks, the stakes are high and timing is critical. Early diagnosis and treatment of such conditions greatly increase the likelihood that an individual diagnosed with lung cancer or a blocked artery will survive. In fact the most common result of a doctor's failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis is death.

It's a sad reality that in today's health care environment doctors are often too over scheduled to take the time needed to properly diagnose certain medical conditions. As a result, some doctors become complacent and treat only obvious symptoms while others rely too heavily upon common diagnoses and tests.

Ohio residents who have been impacted by a doctor's failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis may choose to pursue legal action. In many cases involving these medical errors, patients suffer irreparable harm or even death.

Source: Fox News, "Failure to diagnose is top reason for suing doctors," Rachael Rettner, July 19, 2013