With all of the medical advancements today, an early diagnosis can save your life and prevent you from having to undergo more invasive medical procedures. However, if your healthcare provider delays your diagnosis or misdiagnoses you, you lose these advantages and may suffer irreparable harm.
When your healthcare provider’s actions have caused you harm and delayed your treatment, a Lower Merion Township failure to diagnose/misdiagnosis lawyer from Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette can meet with you during a free consultation to learn more about your situation and explain your legal rights. Contact us today for a free consultation.
When Is a Failure to Diagnose or Misdiagnosis Medical Malpractice?
Misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses can lead to fatal or otherwise serious outcomes when they prevent patients from receiving the medical treatment they need or cause them to undergo unnecessary treatments that harm them.
A failure to diagnose occurs when a healthcare provider fails to accurately identify a patient’s medical condition. For example, they might have dismissed symptoms or failed to order necessary tests that would have resulted in an accurate diagnosis.
A delayed diagnosis occurs when a patient does not receive a timely diagnosis, allowing the condition to worsen in the interim. For example, the patient may have presented symptoms of cancer, but the cancer progresses until another medical provider recognizes that the patient had cancer at a later stage.
A misdiagnosis occurs when a medical provider diagnoses the patient with a condition they don’t have. If the condition required aggressive treatment, the patient could have suffered an adverse effect on their health.
Medical malpractice cases are notoriously complicated. An experienced attorney from Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette can review your situation and explain whether you have a viable medical malpractice claim.
Common Types of Misdiagnoses That Can Harm Patients
Some of the diagnostic mistakes that can lead to serious patient harm include the following:
- Missed or Delayed Cancer Diagnosis – When cancer is not diagnosed promptly, it can metastasize. This leads to the cancer spreading to other organs and parts of the body, becoming more difficult to treat and possibly fatal.
- Failure to Diagnose Heart Attacks or Strokes – Emergency departments are notoriously chaotic. However, healthcare providers must be able to accurately diagnose patients in a life-threatening situation. If medical providers fail to recognize common symptoms of these serious health conditions, fatal outcomes can occur.
- Misdiagnosed Infections, Sepsis, or Internal Bleeding – These serious health conditions require prompt medical attention to prevent further harm or possible death. Without a proper diagnosis, patients can be discharged from the hospital and face serious complications.
Proving Negligence in a Misdiagnosis or Delayed Diagnosis Case
Medical records play a pivotal part in valid medical malpractice claims. A medical expert can also prepare a certificate of merit that outlines the legal basis for this type of claim. Expert testimony can also help explain how the medical provider deviated from the standard of care and caused your harm.
Contact Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers Today to Arrange Your Free Consultation
If a negligent healthcare provider harmed you or a loved one, the Lower Merion Township failure to diagnose/misdiagnosis lawyers from Morris Wilson Knepp Jacquette, P.C. can help. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation.