Is a Failure to Diagnose Considered Malpractice?
Failure to diagnose is considered medical malpractice, according to BMJ Quality & Safety. In fact, the journal notes that failure to diagnose is one of the leading causes of patient injuries and deaths.
If you or a loved one suffered losses because of a medical error, like failure to diagnose, you could work with our law firm to recover compensation.
What Constitutes Medical Malpractice?
Per Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research, if all of the following elements are satisfied, a healthcare professional could be held accountable for medical malpractice:
- The patient and professional shared a doctor-patient relationship, meaning that the doctor owed you a standard of care.
- The healthcare provider failed to meet this standard of care.
- You were hurt as a result.
- You suffered physical, emotional, and financial losses.
If our legal team can prove all of these elements, you could recoup compensation for your losses.
Examples of Medical Malpractice You Can Sue for
According to Medical Principles and Practice, medication errors are the leading cause of medical malpractice in the United States. Medication errors can include filling the wrong prescription or prescribing the wrong medication. In these cases, doctors, nurses, pharmacists, and hospitals can be held liable.
Other examples of medical malpractice include:
- Sexual assault
- Performing the wrong operation or procedure
- Amputating or removing the wrong body part
- Leaving surgical instruments inside a patient
- Diagnosing a patient with the wrong condition
- Birth injuries
- Failure to use good judgment or react in time to a crisis
As you can see here, when a healthcare provider fails to act in the best interest of their patient, they can be held accountable for their negligence. In this instance, failure to diagnose is considered medical malpractice because it puts a patient’s health at risk.
What Causes a Doctor to Commit a Failure to Diagnose?
There is no one singular cause of failure to diagnose. However, it can be attributed to things like:
- Misreading lab tests. If a healthcare professional fails to accurately read a patient’s lab test results, they could fail to diagnose a life-threatening condition.
- Failure to recognize symptoms. Many conditions share similar symptoms. For instance, your doctor might misattribute symptoms of a life-threatening illness to a less serious disease. This mistake could result in unnecessary medical costs and treatments.
- Failing to run tests. A doctor might fail to request necessary tests to identify one’s condition.
- Failing to read a patient’s medical history. When a doctor fails to read a patient’s medical history, they could miss out on valuable information that could have rendered a correct diagnosis.
The idea behind failure to diagnose is that another medical professional in the same situation would have delivered the correct diagnosis. Our team will need to prove that your situation was mishandled, and as a result, you suffered injuries and other losses.
Compensable Losses in a Medical Malpractice Case
The types and values of the losses you can recover will depend on the specifics of your situation. For instance, if you are filing a claim on behalf of a late loved one, you could recover different damages from someone who is filing on behalf of themselves. Some losses you can recover include:
- Past and future medical costs
- Lost wages, bonuses, and tips
- Employee benefits and promotions
- Disability, scarring, and disfigurement
- Funeral expenses
- Pain and suffering and inconvenience
- Loss of enjoyment of life
How Long You Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit
How long you have to file your lawsuit depends on the date that the error happened or the date that you discovered the error happened. Because the statute of limitations in your case can be complex, let us figure it out for you.
CVP §214-A is New York’s medical malpractice statute of limitations. You generally have two years and six months to file your lawsuit. You could have a longer or shorter amount of time to take action, though.
Call Our Attorneys Today to Learn More About Your Case
The Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP is here to fight for you. We can evaluate your case and chart a plan of action on your behalf. While we fight for compensation, you can spend time with your family and rebuild your life.
To begin a free case review with our team, call (866) 878-6774.
