Misdiagnosis or delay in diagnosis situations in medical malpractice are more widespread than you might imagine.
You are the only one who knows how you feel. Do not ignore your intuition if you are not feeling well or if something doesn’t feel right. Returning to your primary care physician with additional concerns or symptoms may be an option, or you may want to seek the advice of another physician for an independent assessment.
Medical malpractice claims typically have a statute of limitations of between two and six years. However, where you reside makes a difference.
Get familiar with the steps and subjects below so that you’ll know when to seek expert assistance for your issue.
To File a Lawsuit. What’s the First Step?
As a first step, you should consult a medical malpractice attorney to find out whether or not you qualify for compensation and whether or not you are inside the statute of limitations. Find a reputable law firm that has a medical malpractice attorney on staff. Leave your name and phone number, as well as a few details about your situation, in the message field. Legal advice should be given to you in the form of a phone call or e-mail from them.
Be aware that the attorney-client relationship is not established until you hire the lawyer.
What Are the Evidences of a Misdiagnosis?
A claim for negligence must have four elements: a duty, a breach, a cause, and damages:
Was the doctor obligated to treat you? For the most part, when a doctor and patient have a working connection, the doctor has an ethical and legal obligation to perform medical services in a professional capacity.
Did the doctor go beyond the call of duty? As long as the diagnosis was correct, the doctor wasn’t irresponsible in any way. It is necessary to demonstrate a breach of duty by showing that a different, more qualified doctor could have correctly diagnosed the ailment.
Is the doctor’s misdiagnosis responsible for your current condition? Because of a doctor’s misdiagnosis, you may have lost a loved one to a car accident the following day. An incorrect diagnosis by a doctor did not result in death.
Damages: Were you harmed as a result of the incorrect diagnoses? It’s possible that the doctor mistook your flu symptoms for migraines. In any case, he prescribed you Tylenol, which worked wonders in getting rid of your cold and flu. The misdiagnosis didn’t do any harm to you, so you won’t have to pay for it.
For diagnostic errors or other medical errors that occurred while you were in the hospital or seeing your doctor, you may need to acquire medical records to support your claim. It’s going to:
- Future evidence to back up your assertion
- Establish a patient-doctor interaction.
- Prove that your doctor was careless in his or her treatment of you.
- Assist your lawyer by providing a framework for the case.
- When you ask for your medical records, healthcare professionals should release them to you. If they appear to be putting up a fight, you should alert your lawyer.
It’s possible that you’ll acquire a second opinion on the medical care you received to show that your doctor was incorrect. This is referred to as differential diagnosis and is employed to demonstrate a first-time diagnosis that was erroneous. If the matter proceeds to trial, more doctors may be called in as expert witnesses. Norris Injury Lawyers Chelsea AL can help you so give them a call.