If you received a diagnosis for a medical issue far later than you reasonably expected, you may potentially have a medical malpractice case on your hands. Medical malpractice law encompasses any situation in which doctors or medical professionals failed to meet the medical standard of care for your condition. In order to assess this, you’ll need to determine whether another doctor with similar training would have made the same mistake.
Explaining Delayed Diagnoses
Potentially, a diagnosis could be delayed for several reasons, not all of which are the doctor’s fault. For example, an issue with lab testing equipment or a mismanaged test could result in botched results. Additionally, some medical conditions’ symptoms mimic those of other conditions. Depending on your issue, it could be one of several possible ailments. Your doctor has an obligation to examine all possibilities thoroughly to deliver the correct diagnosis and develop an appropriate treatment plan.
The main issue in determining whether you can file a lawsuit is the level of harm caused by a delayed diagnosis. If the delay resulted in excessive pain and suffering, unnecessary procedures that incur additional medical bills, or other tangible damages, you may be able to sue. Your attorney will need to prove the doctor was negligent in some way and then establish that this negligence directly caused the delayed diagnosis. Finally, you’ll need to show the court that the delayed diagnosis caused you harm. Possible types of harm from a delayed diagnosis might include:
– Necessitation of more-aggressive treatment methods that would not have been necessary had the diagnosis been delivered sooner.
– Needless exposure to stressful or harmful treatments.
– Unnecessary surgeries.
– Heightened risk of complications.
– Higher likelihood of death.
– Every case is different, so your delayed diagnosis may have resulted in damages unique to your condition and the surrounding circumstances.
Pursuing a Lawsuit
If your condition worsened because your medical provider did not diagnose you accurately in a reasonable, timely manner, you can sue your doctor for medical malpractice if negligence caused the delay. Negligence in this regard may include things like:
– Misdiagnosis of your symptoms, leading to ineffective treatment.
– Failure to account for all possible medical conditions given your symptoms.
– Failure to refer you to an appropriate specialist.
– Failure to interpret lab results correctly.
– Failure to apply lab results to your treatment plan accurately.
– Failure to consult with you about your symptoms.
– Failure to provide follow-up care.
– Failure to investigate the causes of your reported symptoms.
You’ll also need to remember your state’s statute of limitations. You have a specific time frame starting from the date of an injury or the date you discover harm in which you may file a lawsuit. Once the time comes to file a complaint, you’ll need to prove the doctor’s negligence.
Proving negligence in medical malpractice cases means your attorney must prove an official doctor-patient relationship existed, the doctor made an error that another similarly skilled doctor would not have made, and that the error caused you tangible harm. You can recoup your financial losses from missed time from work due to an unnecessarily lengthy treatment, as well as any additional medical bills resulting from the delayed diagnosis. If the delayed diagnosis worsened your condition, you can sue for your unnecessary pain and suffering.
Medical malpractice law is a complex area of law, and no two cases are the same. A delayed diagnosis case will typically rely heavily on expert witness testimony. Make sure you connect with an attorney with the experience, expertise, and skill to build an effective case. If a doctor should have diagnosed you sooner and caused you injury or damages because he or she failed to do so, you shouldn’t have to bear the results alone, and the doctor needs to be accountable for the negligence.