Failure to Diagnose a Medical Condition Case
There is a reason medical professionals are required to undergo years of schooling and training - they have a very important job. These medical professionals are responsible for recognizing if you show signs or symptoms of a vast number of medical conditions. These medical providers also responsible for knowing risk factors that could make it more likely you could develop a medical condition, and determining if you have those risk factors. If you have symptoms a doctor doesn’t understand, they have the responsibility of doing what they can to help you find an answer in a timely manner. For example, they should refer you to a specialist. The failure to help you in a timely manner could result in the development of a permanent condition or in some cases death.
A recent study involving medical malpractice claims in the United States, Australia, France, and Canada revealed that between 26% and 63% of the medical malpractice claims that were filed were for misdiagnoses. The most frequently missed diseases, according to the claims, were cancer (particularly breast, colon, melanoma and lung cancers) and heart attacks in adults; and meningitis in children. The most common outcome for patients as a result of the alleged malpractice was death.
A failure to diagnose can occur in many ways: It can occur via improper conducting of a physical examination, failing to perform regular screenings in high-risk patients, misinterpreting test results, missing potential indications of a problem, failing to order appropriate tests when they are indicated, or failing to refer a patient. Commonly, medical providers fail to document a differential diagnosis at the first visit in more than 80% of misdiagnosis cases.
Regardless of the cause of a failure to diagnose or misdiagnose, innocent people can suffer very serious harm as a result, such as medical complications, the need for more expensive or aggressive treatments, permanent bodily injury, decreased survival rates, shortened life spans, or death.
Medical providers have many responsibilities and they are held accountable for their failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of a patient. You have responsibilities too! At all times you need to be completely upfront with your medical providers regarding your personal habits and medical history. When you go see the doctor, you must advocate on your behalf and do your best to explain to your doctors what is troubling you. Doctors can avoid accountability for failing to diagnose if you did not keep them adequately informed.
Proving that a health care provider failed to properly or timely diagnose a medical condition can be a meticulous process. In all cases involving a failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis, our team of attorneys rely on the support of experienced expert medical professionals in a wide array of medical fields. With the assistance of these medical experts, we will use your medical records and facts to prove:
the defendant medical provider did truly fail to diagnose a medical condition and/or take the necessary steps to refer the patient to a specialist to facilitate a diagnosis,
that the medical provider’s failure constituted a departure from the standard of care (in other words, what a reasonable physician would have done in the same or similar circumstances), and
the medical provider’s failure to diagnose or timely diagnose the patient with their illness/condition caused them to suffer further medical complications, injuries, or death.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of an improper or an untimely medical diagnosis, contact the experienced attorneys at the Law Office of Dimitrios Kourouklis, Ph.D. The New York Failure to Diagnose Attorneys at the Law Office of Dimitrios Kourouklis, Ph.D offer free initial consultations to discuss your rights. You can contact us at 929-400-7608 or via email to learn more about your rights so that we can obtain the best outcome for you.
