Timely and accurate diagnosis of a medical condition is the first critical step to ensuring the treatment and medical care of every patient. Any failure to diagnose in a timely manner can result in a condition being allowed to escalate, and the treatment options for the patient reduced.
A Medical Professionals Duty
Every doctor, nurse, dentist and even hospital is bound by a legal duty to perform their job to a specified medical standard of care. This includes diagnosing illness and injury based on a set of symptoms. Whether due to hurriedness, lack of testing or a simple mistake, a failure to diagnose can constitute a breach of that duty, placing liability for any resulting damages on the medical provider.
When is it Malpractice?
If a doctor or other medical provider fails to diagnose a condition that should have been detected based on the patients symptoms, he or she can be held liable for medical negligence. Once negligence has occurred, that professional or the hospital/clinic itself can be held responsible to pay for all damages associated with that breach of duty.
Medical negligence becomes a medical malpractice case when the patient suffers some form of economic and/or medical damages caused by the negligent medical treatment.
An Injured Patients Legal Rights
Under civil law, an injured patient has the right to file a medical malpractice claim alleging that he or she has been wronged and suffered damages as a result of negligent treatment.
In the case of a failure to diagnose, a third party medical professional will need to investigate the claim, determine if and how the diagnosing doctor was negligent, and how that negligence contributed to patient damages or injury.
Patients should first consult with a medical malpractice attorney to determine if a case has the legal and medical merit to warrant the expense of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. Most medical malpractice lawyers will offer their clients a free initial consultation to hear the details of the case and offer advice regarding the likelihood of a successful suit and the amount of money that could be expected.
Additionally, almost every medical malpractice lawyer will take a case on a contingency basis, so even patients who cannot afford a good medical malpractice lawyer can have experienced legal representation.
