Every year in the United States, local doctors receive more than 883 million visits. These appointments help to keep us healthy and happy but they also depend on us putting a lot of trust in the doctors we see.
Unfortunately, doctors are not immune to making mistakes. In fact, every year around 12 million patients suffer as a result of a wrong diagnosis. These may result in you getting the wrong treatment or in your condition progressing more than necessary.
Whatever the result of your misdiagnosis, help is at hand. Winning a medical lawsuit will help you get the proper financial compensation for your doctor’s error.
Want to know more? Then you’re in the right place! Read to find out everything you need to know about getting a misdiagnosis and how to sue your doctor for one.
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What is a Wrong Diagnosis?
Wrong diagnoses or misdiagnoses are a lot more common than you might think! They happen when a doctor diagnoses you with the wrong condition or fails to prescribe the correct treatment for your condition.
They can happen for a number of reasons. They may occur because of negligent practices by a doctor, such as not thoroughly investigating your symptoms.
They can also result from the doctor running the wrong kind of tests on you. In some cases, doctors may misread or misinterpret test results.
Some misdiagnoses occur because a doctor mistakes your symptoms for signs of another condition. Some commonly misdiagnosed illnesses include:
- Asthma
- Heart attacks
- Lyme disease
- Parkinson’s disease
- Lupus
If you visit your doctor with symptoms and they fail to diagnosis a condition that is later picked up, then this also counts as a misdiagnosis.
Whatever the reason for your misdiagnosis, these all breach the medical standard of care that doctors are sworn to. This means that you can pursue legal action if you have been misdiagnosed.
Understanding Different Types of Medical Negligence
Being misdiagnosed by your doctor can be extremely distressing. It may also have other serious implications for your overall health. A misdiagnosis can:
- Delay you getting the proper treatment for your condition
- Delay you getting an accurate diagnosis for emergency treatment
- Result in your condition worsening with time
- Result in you having to have more extensive treatment for your condition
- Result in a wrongful death suit, if the misdiagnosis leads to the death of a patient
Being misdiagnosed can also have a serious impact on your mental health and well-being. This is the last thing you need when you are already unwell.
If your misdiagnosis has resulted in any of the above, then you may be able to file a medical lawsuit. In this case, you need to ask yourself the following questions:
- Did the doctor that you saw have a duty of professional care towards you and, if so, did they fulfill this?
- If not, how did they breach their duty of care?
- Did their misdiagnosis cause you harm in any way and, if so, how?
- Did their misdiagnosis result in any damages, such as medical complications?
If you do think that a doctor has breached their duty of care to you, then it’s time to start putting your case together.
Putting Together a Misdiagnosis Case
If you are going to file a medical lawsuit for a misdiagnosis, then you’ll need plenty of evidence to support your claim.
This is why it’s a good idea to keep a record of any interactions that you have with a doctor during your appointments. You can do this by making your own written records or by recording your appointments. Any doctor that is committed to fulfilling their duty of care shouldn’t have a problem with this.
In order to make a claim, you will need to:
- Show that your relationship with the doctor was a professional one
- Provide evidence of why you originally visited the doctor
- Provide a copy of their original misdiagnosis and any subsequent diagnoses
- Demonstrate at what stage during your diagnosis your doctor was negligent
There are a number of places that you can look for this evidence. Your medical record is very useful, as this is a written record. You can also request information on when certain tests were performed and what the results were. If you have your own evidence of your symptoms or recordings of your doctor’s appointments then you can submit these as evidence as well.
However, this can be a very time-consuming job. This is why it’s a good idea to get a medical lawsuit attorney to help you build your case.
Hiring an Attorney for Your Lawsuit
If you are serious about having a successful lawsuit for your misdiagnosis case, then you need an experienced lawyer by your side.
In order to file a medical lawsuit, your case will need to be within the statute of limitations. This varies depending on which state you live in so make sure to check that. The last thing you want is to miss the deadline!
An attorney will be able to review your case, with help from medical expert witnesses, and will determine who is liable in it. They’ll then help you to gather the evidence you need to support your case before representing you.
Some medical lawsuits are settled out-of-court, while others require a judge to make a final decision on their outcome. Either way, hiring an experienced attorney will take the pressure off you so that you can focus on your recovery!
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Get Help With Your Misdiagnosis Today
Receiving a wrong diagnosis for a medical condition can be extremely confusing and distressing.
However, it can also have serious implications for your long-term health if your condition isn’t properly treated in time. If you’ve experienced a misdiagnosis then you could be entitled to compensation. So what are you waiting for?
For more great legal advice, keep scrolling!
