Neurological Fallacies Leading to Malpractice: A Case Studies Approach.

A young woman presents with an intracranial arachnoid cyst. Another is diagnosed with migraine headache. An elderly man awakens with a stroke. And a baby delivered vaginally after 2 hours of questionable electronic fetal monitoring patterns grows up to have cerebral palsy. These seemingly disparate cases share a common underlying theme: medical myths. Myths that may lead not only to misdiagnosis and treatment harms but to seemingly never-ending medical malpractice lawsuits, potentially culminating in a settlement or judgment against an unsuspecting neurologist. This article provides a case studies approach exposing the fallacies and highlighting proper management of these common neurologic presentations.