Holding Negligent Doctors Accountable for Your Suffering
When you get medical care, you expect to have the best possible treatment from doctors, nurses, surgeons, and other healthcare providers. Unfortunately, when medical professionals fail to diagnose or misdiagnose a condition, it can cause severe issues. Victims who have suffered a failure to diagnose may experience additional injuries, leading to more medical bills and other expenses.
By pursuing a failure to diagnose lawsuit, you can hold negligent healthcare providers responsible for their actions or inactions. Failure to diagnose can be classified as medical malpractice. Medical malpractice cases provide compensation for your damages while holding responsible parties liable.
Our team at LawMD is here to help you make things right after you’ve suffered because of a doctor’s failure to diagnose. To speak to a Washington DC failure to diagnose lawyer at our firm, contact us today.
What Are Some Examples of a Failure to Diagnose?
A failure to diagnose, misdiagnosis, or delayed diagnosis is caused by a doctor or physician missing the evidence that would normally lead to a diagnosis. To prove a failure to diagnose, it’s essential to provide proof of your signs and symptoms. Medical malpractice victims must show that with a different provider, they would have gotten the diagnosis and treatment they needed.
The most common examples of failure to diagnose include:
- Failure to complete a physical examination of the patient
- Failure to take a complete family and medical history
- Failure to order diagnostic tests, like MRIs, X-rays, or blood tests
- Failure to follow up with new tests based on test results
- Failure to conduct a review of the patient’s medical history
- Failure to interpret diagnostic test results
- Improperly conducted testing due to technician negligence
- Failure to seek a referral or consultation with a specialist when required
What Are the Most Common Types of Misdiagnosis?
A failure to diagnose doesn’t always mean a complete lack of a diagnosis. In some cases, diagnosis errors can lead to mistreatment, delayed diagnosis, and other unfortunate outcomes.
The most common types of misdiagnosis include:
Equivocal Diagnosis
In an equivocal diagnosis, a person is never informed of a definite diagnosis. A lack of an accurate and timely diagnosis can lead to a patient being denied treatment for their condition. For severely ill patients, a lack of diagnosis can mean further illness or even death.
False Negative Diagnosis
In a false negative diagnosis, a patient is told that they don’t have a disease when they actually do. For serious diseases like cancer, a misdiagnosis like this can lead to a delay or lack of treatment. This puts patients at risk for further sickness.
False Positive Diagnosis
When a person is diagnosed with a disease they do not have, it’s called a false positive. These types of misdiagnoses are just as dangerous because they can lead patients to seek out treatments they don’t need. Treating an illness you do not have can lead to long-term side effects and health problems.
One of the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions is diabetes. When left untreated, diabetes can cause neuropathy, amputations, heart disease, and more. Failure to recognize and treat the signs and symptoms of a stroke is another common error. Strokes can lead to loss of speech, brain damage, severe paralysis, and death.
No matter what the circumstances of your case are, you deserve to have your voice heard. Our medical malpractice attorneys will investigate the details of your misdiagnosis to help you gather evidence and get the compensation you deserve.
How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice?
Diagnostic errors and a failure to diagnose are categorized as medical malpractice. To collect compensation, you would likely file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Medical malpractice lawsuits require extensive evidence to prove negligence.
In a medical malpractice case, negligence is defined as the following:
- Duty: The medical provider had a duty of care by entering into a doctor-patient relationship with you
- Breach: The medical provider did not meet their duty of providing reasonable care that is expected of other doctors in the same community under similar circumstances
- Causation: The negligent act caused your injuries
- Damages: You suffered physical and financial damages as a result of the care you did or did not receive
It’s essential to prove all four elements of negligence in your personal injury claim. For instance, if you received an incorrect diagnosis but did not suffer any physical or financial damages, it’s unlikely the court would award you compensation. Or, if your medical provider met the reasonable standard of care but simply gave an inaccurate diagnosis, your lawsuit may not be successful.
Our medical malpractice attorneys understand the medical field and what it means to prove that a doctor-patient relationship existed. We can use your medical records, witness statements, and expert medical testimony to prove causation and damages. Because we are doctors, too, we have the insight you need for a successful personal injury lawsuit. Contact us today to learn more.
Who Can be Held Liable?
While most people think of doctors as the ones responsible for a missed or delayed diagnosis, they are not the only providers who can be held liable in medical malpractice claims. It’s likely that your records, tests, or test results were viewed and handled by multiple providers in many settings. If negligence occurred at any point, you can hold the party responsible for your injuries.
The most common healthcare providers named in a medical malpractice case include:
- Surgeons
- Doctors
- Anesthesiologists
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Dentists
- Hospitals
- Psychiatrists
- Plastic surgeons
- Lab technicians
- Radiologists
It’s also possible that more than one party failed to diagnose your condition, which led to your injuries. As your legal team, our attorneys will review your case to determine all liable parties and how the negligence occurred. By identifying all parties responsible, we can secure the maximum financial compensation in your case.
What Kind of Damages Can You Recover?
In medical malpractice cases, the goal is to recover payment for all the damages you suffered as the result of your failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis. Damages can range from actual financial losses to emotional damages. Our team will help you calculate all the losses you sustained as a result of your medical treatment or lack thereof.
Many medical malpractice victims request the following damages:
Economic Damages
Economic damages are easy to calculate — they are real financial losses that you have suffered or expect to suffer in the future. Your bills, receipts, and medical records can be used to prove these damages in court. Economic damages may include:
- Medical bills, both past and future
- Hospital visits
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitation costs
- Lost wages from taking time off work
- Loss of future income if your medical condition means you can no longer perform your job duties
- Transportation to and from medical care
- Medical equipment, including wheelchairs and walkers
- Medication
Non-Economic Damages
Non-economic damages have to do with your well-being and your mental health after experiencing medical malpractice. Many victims suffer because of their lack of diagnosis. Our team can help you add up your non-economic damages to request full and fair compensation. These damages may include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental trauma
- Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Permanent disability
- Loss of companionship (for wrongful death cases)
Punitive Damages
Punitive damages are awarded when the responsible party is found to have acted recklessly or with extreme disregard for human life. While they are not often awarded in medical malpractice cases, there are some instances when a judge might grant them. For instance, if your medical provider failed to diagnose your condition because they were under the influence of drugs, you could request punitive damages. Our team can investigate your claim to determine what kinds of damages you qualify for.
How Long Do You Have to File a Lawsuit?
Dealing with a diagnostic error can be challenging, especially if you are still seeking treatment or an accurate diagnosis. In Washington D.C., you only have three years from the date of the injury to file a medical malpractice claim. While three years may sound like an ample amount of time, it can take weeks or months to prepare for a lawsuit like this. The best thing you can do for your case is to reach out to our attorneys immediately.
Our legal team is ready to start your case today. We can help you gather evidence, request medical records, speak to medical experts, and more. Contact us to talk about your case and what we can do for you.
What if My Loved One Passed Away?
Losing a loved one is incredibly difficult, especially if they passed away because of a failure to diagnose or a misdiagnosis. If you lost a family member because of medical malpractice, you may be able to file a wrongful death lawsuit on their behalf.
Wrongful death cases provide money to the surviving relatives of the deceased. The money can be used to pay for medical bills, funeral and burial costs, loss of income, and more. While no amount of money will bring your loved one back, many family members find it helpful to receive compensation during this difficult time.
Wrongful death lawsuits also hold liable parties accountable for their actions. If a medical provider failed to give your loved one the medical care they needed, a lawsuit makes them admit guilt. Many family members find closure in the fact that they can sue doctors, hospitals, surgeons, and other healthcare providers.
Pursuing a wrongful death medical malpractice case may be the right choice for your family. Contact our law office today to learn more.
What Does a Failure to Diagnose Lawyer Do?
Working with a medical malpractice lawyer on our team allows you to focus on your mental and physical health while we pursue compensation on your behalf. We know how difficult it can be to start a legal case while also seeking treatment for your medical condition. Our ultimate goal is to help you recover damages for your losses so you don’t have to pay for someone else’s negligence.
When you work with our team, we’ll do the following:
Investigate Your Case
Failure to diagnose cases can be complex. We will spend time investigating the circumstances of your case to identify all liable parties and determine exactly how the malpractice occurred.
Gather Evidence
Your medical records will likely be the main source of evidence in your case. We can also gather witness testimonies, statements from medical professionals, and more.
Negotiate for Compensation
Most of the time, lawsuits like these are resolved outside of court. Our attorneys will meet with the responsible party or parties to argue for full and fair compensation.
Pursue Your Case in Court
If the best way to get compensation for your injuries is by going to trial, that’s what our team will do. We will present all your evidence before a judge to fight for your right to compensation.
Can an Attorney Help You?
Receiving an inaccurate diagnosis or no diagnosis at all can be devastating. Many victims suffer additional injuries and expenses because of the lack of a timely diagnosis. Our team is here to help you recover damages for the unfortunate experience you have gone through.
At LawMD, our attorneys have experience in the medical field and the legal field. We are confident that by working with us, you can get the outcome you deserve in your case. Contact us today to learn more about our services and what we can do for you.