Frequently Asked Questions About Delayed Diagnosis Cases
When a medical professional fails to promptly diagnose a person’s medical condition, there are many potential complications that can arise. Often, a patient that is deprived of an early diagnosis is also deprived of effective treatment and a full recovery. Given the danger of late diagnosis, medical practitioners should be held accountable if they fail to provide a prompt diagnosis to a patient. If you or a loved one has been harmed by medical malpractice, it can help to have a basic understanding about how these accidents occur.
What Harm can a Patient Incur Due to Delayed Diagnosis?
Obtaining timely medical treatment can make a significant difference in the outcome of a patient’s life. Based on the health condition with which a person is afflicted, there are a variety of additional injuries that can be incurred. In cases involving cancer and other serious diseases, a patient’s medical condition can progress to a worse condition if not properly diagnosed in time.
What Must be Demonstrated in a Delayed Diagnosis Case?
A delayed diagnosis must go beyond a simple mistake, which does not result in the physician being liable for the damage. To establish that delayed diagnosis occurred, a person must demonstrate several particular conditions, which include the following:
- A doctor/patient relationship must have existed at the time that the diagnosis was made.
- The doctor failed to adhere to the reasonable standard of care followed by other medical providers.
- Because of the physician’s delayed diagnosis, the patient was harmed.
What can a Delayed Diagnosis Include?
Delayed diagnosis errors can involve several types of physician behavior, including:
- Failure to refer a patient to a specialist.
- Lost paperwork.
- Medical chart errors.
- Not ordering routine medical tests.
- Not treating a patient in a timely manner.
- Reading results incorrectly.
What are Some of the Most Common Delayed Diagnosis Conditions?
A delayed diagnosis can result in significant obstacles being created in a patient’s life. Some of the most common illnesses involved in delayed diagnosis cases involve:
- Brain injuries
- Breast cancer
- Colon cancer
- Crohn’s disease
- Heart attacks
- Infections
- Internal bleeding
- Ligament damage
- Lung cancer
- Meningitis
- Prostate cancer
- Staph infections
- Stroke
- Surgical errors
What Should a Person do if Impacted by Delayed Diagnosis?
There are several critical steps that a person should take if he or she has been impacted by a delayed diagnosis, which include:
- Speak to a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney who knows how to best analyze the facts of your case.
- Gather all necessary medical documentation regarding your injury. This helps to establish what tests were conducted, on what dates the examinations occurred, and sometimes why the delay occurred.
- Record all details about the medical appointment during which the delayed diagnosis occurred.
Speak to a Knowledgeable New Jersey Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If you or a loved one experienced harm caused by a delayed diagnosis, contact the experienced legal counsel at Ferrara Law. Our law firm has helped countless individuals navigate the complicated area of medical malpractice and obtain the compensation that they deserve. Contact our law office for a free case evaluation today.
