When most people think of medical malpractice injuries, they think of a treating healthcare professional’s “active” negligence — perhaps a surgical error. In reality, however, many medical malpractice claims arise from negligence in the diagnostic stage. Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis can lead to severe injury, or even death.
Misdiagnosis of a malignant tumor as benign, for example, can lead to an advanced stage of cancer that carries with it higher injury and fatality risks. Similarly, the delayed diagnosis of an infection can lead to organ failure. If you have suffered such injuries as the result of a misdiagnosis in Easton or elsewhere in the state, you may be entitled to claim significant damages.
Have you been injured due to a misdiagnosis by your healthcare professional? Call (888) 777-7098 to speak with an experienced Easton misdiagnosis attorney at Drake, Hileman & Davis, PC. Initial consultation is free.
Healthcare professionals may be found negligent for failing to make the correct diagnosis in a timely manner, but there are a number of ways in which the defendant may have acted negligently. For example, a healthcare professional could be found negligent for recognizing that your symptoms do not clearly point to a particular illness or condition and subsequently failing to request a second opinion from another professional. A healthcare professional might also be found negligent in the misdiagnosis context for being ignorant of your family and personal medical history, if their ignorance has led to the misdiagnosis.
Misdiagnosis Challenges Faced by Easton Residents
Medical malpractice litigation brought on the basis of a misdiagnosis can be challenging to litigate. For one thing, it is not always clear whether a correct diagnosis was reasonably possible given the circumstances. It’s important to note that a healthcare professional can only be held liable for medical malpractice if they have violated the standard of care. In certain circumstances, the mistake of the healthcare professional in misdiagnosing your illness or condition may not necessarily rise to the level of medical malpractice, as he or she may not have actually violated the standard of care.
Say, for example, that you have a neurological condition with rather vague symptoms. If a similarly situated physician in the same circumstances would also likely have misdiagnosed you, then it your own physician may not have actually violated the standard of care, despite making a mistake.
Misdiagnosis damages can also be unclear. For example, cancer is not always responsive to treatment. As such, the fact that your Easton healthcare professional failed to diagnose your cancer in a timely manner does not necessarily mean that the cancer would have been effectively treated and resolved. Your damages must take into account the inherent risks of treatment and the possibility that the treatment would not have resolved your condition.
Contact an Easton Misdiagnosis Attorney as Soon as Possible
If you have been injured as a result of a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, you may be able to recover damages on the basis of a medical malpractice claim against the healthcare professional who failed to make the proper diagnosis. Misdiagnosis claims are notoriously challenging, however, in part because you will have to persuasively demonstrate that your claimed damages did, in fact, arise from the misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, and would not have otherwise occurred as a natural progression of the illness or condition at-issue.
Effective litigation of a medical malpractice claim based on a healthcare professional’s misdiagnosis requires the assistance of an experienced attorney who is familiar with such litigation and who can make use of an extensive network of medical experts. Drake, Hileman & Davis, PC has represented injured plaintiffs in misdiagnosis lawsuits for over three decades, with a track record of success.
Call (888) 777-7098 to setup a free consultation with an experienced Easton misdiagnosis attorney today.