Can I Sue For A Misdiagnosis?

You trust our doctors with your lives and most of us have no reason to doubt a diagnosis at face value. Our doctors have received years of training to ensure that they always provide an accurate diagnosis. Of course, you are sure that your doctors will diagnose the root cause of your medical problems and will treat it safely and on time. So what do you do when your trusted health care professional fails? And what happens if that misdiagnosis causes pain and suffering? Can you sue a doctor for misdiagnosis?

If you are a victim of misdiagnosis, you can take legal action against the doctor that misdiagnosed you and the medical facility you attended. With the help of a medical malpractice lawyer, you can fight and receive compensatory damages.

The following points make you eligible to sue doctors and medical facilities for a misdiagnosis under the law.

Medical Misdiagnosis Is A Bigger Problem Than You Think

Many are surprised to learn that medical misdiagnosis is not a rare occurrence. According to CBS, there are around 12 million adults who have been the victim of misdiagnosis. Out of every 20 health-related cases, 1 case is misdiagnosed… some with fatal consequences. The number of misdiagnosis cases continues an alarming rise, Americans should be aware of their legal rights, know when to take action and how.

How To Tell You Have A Valid Misdiagnosis Claim

Of course, not all doctors aren’t perfect, and some may make mistakes. However, bear in mind that there is a fine line between failing to maintain an effective standard of care and failing to accurately diagnose an illness. It is fair to assume that it may take time to detect all your diseases, provided your doctor does all in his/her power to bring forward an accurate diagnosis. However, if your medical practitioner fails to diagnose your illness due to inexperience or carelessness, you can file a claim.

Common mistakes that usually lead to a missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis include the following:

• Not considering the patient’s medical history.
• Making different assumptions without having extensive medical experience.
• Failing to notice any red flags or alarming symptoms.
• Not ordering additional tests to rule out any other illness.
• Misinterpreting the CT scan, MRI, or X-ray results.

All these conditions are serious and mark negligence on the doctor’s part. If you or a loved one have been injured or are experiencing pain and suffering as a result of a misdiagnosis, you may have a case.

When Can You Sue For Malpractice?

So what makes you eligible to file a claim for misdiagnosis?

Ultimately, you will not be able to file a malpractice claim unless you can prove that the misdiagnosis has caused you pain and damages. Even if you can prove that your doctor did not diagnose your illness correctly, you will not be able to seek damages unless you prove that the misdiagnosis had adverse effects. That being said, many patients want to know how to sue a doctor for pain and suffering.

What Does The Plaintiff Need To Provide?

A misdiagnosis does not form the basis of a malpractice lawsuit on its own; the person filing the claim needs to prove certain facts and assumptions. To hold the medical professional or doctor accountable, you need to fulfill the following requirements:

• You need to have a patient-doctor relationship.
• You must prove that the doctor didn’t diagnose your illness correctly.
• The negligence on your doctor’s part led you to incur damages or an injury.

In a nutshell, suing a doctor for your misdiagnosis, you first need to provide proof of negligence. Then you need to present valid evidence that shows you suffered medical expenses or injury due to that specific negligence. You will need a personal injury attorney to prove your claim.

Commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Conditions

Some conditions or diseases can be challenging to diagnose. In some instances, people may have varying symptoms which are non-specific, ultimately causing the incorrect diagnosis. Even though it is possible to misdiagnose any type of medical condition, there are some that are mostly misdiagnosed more than others. These include the following:

• Different types of cancer.
• Pulmonary embolisms.
• Strokes and heart attacks
• Embolisms.
• Appendicitis.
• Lung conditions like pneumonia.

If a medical practitioner fails to properly diagnose any of the above medical conditions, it can have devastating effects on the patient, as the slightest delay in treating these conditions can prove to be fatal.

Contact Our Personal Injury Attorney To File Your Misdiagnosis Claim

Failure to diagnose a life-threatening medical condition can lead to devastating results. If you or a loved one has been a victim of a misdiagnosis, our team of experienced personal injury lawyers will thoroughly guide you in filing your claim and win monetary compensation for the medical bills and pain and suffering caused.