It’s estimated that in a hospital setting diagnostic errors account for as many as 17% of adverse events. What’s even more disturbing is the fact that these are just documented cases. There are likely many more that are simply ignored or swept under the rug.
One of the most common forms of medical malpractice is failure to diagnose. But what exactly is this type of lawsuit? And how do you file a failure to diagnose lawsuit? In this guide, we’ll briefly explain what’s involved in this type of lawsuit.
What Is a Failure to Diagnose Lawsuit?
Failure to diagnose occurs when a doctor or healthcare provider is unable to accurately diagnose a disease, injury, or condition. In some cases, a doctor might make a delayed correct diagnosis that offsets valuable response times.
Or, they might make an incorrect diagnosis, confusing a harmful medical condition with something else. Indeed, medicine and science aren’t perfect. Doctors are humans, too and they can make mistakes.
However, doctors often hold the power to make life-or-death decisions. Because of this, they’re held to a higher standard of care than the average professional.
As such, if you or a loved one are suffering because of an avoidable failure to diagnose, you deserve compensation. In addition to your medical bills, this type of lawsuit can also cover things like physical and emotional pain/suffering.
What Are Some Common Reasons for Filing?
There are a variety of diagnosis errors that can qualify you for this type of lawsuit. Perhaps the most common is not being able to discover an obvious problem during a diagnosis.
Another common problem involves either administering tests incorrectly or reading the results wrong. One of the more egregious reasons is delaying a diagnosis because they don’t notice the serious nature of the symptoms.
This happens often with breast cancer, which can be difficult to diagnose in the early stages. This is a huge problem though, because a delay in treatment can often mean the difference between life and death. Some other reasons include things like:
- Interpreting a medication response as a symptom of a condition resulting in medical misdiagnosis
- Lack of communication between healthcare providers
- Forgetting to follow up on test results
If you aren’t sure whether or not your specific case is a valid reason for filing we recommend reaching out to a legal professional.
What’s the Average Claim on These Lawsuits?
Different lawsuits will have claim amounts depending on a variety of factors. Some of these factors include things like the amount of negligence displayed by the doctor, the resulting medical bills, and the amount of pain or suffering experienced by the family or patient.
We will say that here in the state of Tennessee out of the 283 diagnosis liability claims a collective $31,034,649 was rewarded. Split event that’s around $109,663 per claim.
That being said, it’s not uncommon to see claims double or triple that amount. In some of the more egregious cases of medical malpractice, the claims can be in the millions.
Your misdiagnosis lawyer will be able to give you a more accurate picture of the claim amount they’ll shoot for with your specific case.
How to File a Failure to Diagnose Lawsuit
A failure to diagnose lawsuit isn’t something you want to file frivolously. Not only will it be time-consuming and expensive, but proving negligence with a medical professional can be quite a challenge.
That being said, if you’re certain that your doctor was in the wrong, you should follow these steps when preparing to file.
Prepare Your Documents and Evidence
The first thing you will need to do is prepare all documents and evidence that are relevant to your case. A court isn’t just going to take your word that a doctor committed medical malpractice.
They’ll want to see a paper trail and evidence. For starters, this should include things like your medical records, any correspondence that took place between you and the provider, prescription lists, and medical bills related to the treatment.
However, you should bring any files that might even be tangentially related. Your lawyer will decide what’s relevant and what’s not. Still, it’s good to err on the side of caution by providing them with as much as you can.
Contact a Lawyer
Next, it’s time to find a lawyer. A failure to diagnose a lawsuit isn’t something you’ll be able to navigate alone. Even if you’re well-versed in malpractice law, there’s still the emotional element that can derail cases.
As such, you’ll want to find a qualified legal professional to represent you while dealing with all of the technical stuff. Make sure to choose a lawyer who has experience with medical malpractice law.
Ideally, they’ll also have a proven track record to back up their qualifications. You should also make sure that you understand and agree with their fee structure. If you need some help read these six tips for hiring a medical malpractice lawyer.
Prove Negligence
Once you have your evidence and lawyer, you’ll need to begin formulating a strategy to prove negligence. To do this in a medical malpractice setting, you’ll need to prove four things. First, you need to establish duty.
This is fairly easy as medical professionals must provide you with the correct diagnosis. Second, you’ll have to show that they breached the contract by not providing the standard of care they would for other patients.
Third, you need to prove that the failure to diagnose directly caused you harm. Lastly, you will need to prove that the negligence caused you damages, whether that’s financial costs or pain and suffering.
Need Legal Help? Contact Cummings Law, PL
We hope this guide helped you learn how to file a failure to diagnose lawsuit. Here at Cummings Law, we know how frustrating it can be to be cheated by a medical system you trusted.
That’s why whether you’re a patient or a family member, we work to get you the financial justice you deserve. To do this Brian Cummings brings over twenty years of medical malpractice litigation to the table.
During that time, he’s won his clients over twenty-nine million dollars. So if you’re ready to get the legal help you need, describe your incident to us and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.
Posted in: Medical Malpractice