What is Failure to Diagnose, and How Can it Lead to Medical Malpractice?
The prevalence of medical professional errors in the United States cannot be ignored, with approximately 400,000 patients dying due to medical errors annually. When a doctor fails to diagnose a serious condition that leads to further complications and mortality, the patient or the patient’s family will be able to file a medical malpractice suit.
At Parham Smith & Archenhold LLC, our legal team has successfully been helping individuals in South Carolina protect their interests for almost 40 years. If a healthcare provider recently failed to diagnose your condition, our Greenville medical malpractice attorneys would like to hear from you.
Prevalence of Medical Malpractice
When you are feeling unwell, it is wise to seek medical treatment so that you can begin to feel better. Understandably, we rely on physicians, nurse practitioners, and other medical professionals to diagnose and treat ailments and underlying conditions. Unfortunately, diagnostic errors are not uncommon, with millions of people being subject to medical mistakes each year. Of these, it is estimated that 795,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled each year due to diagnostic errors.
What Qualifies as a Failure to Diagnose?
A diagnostic error occurs anytime that a patient is not diagnosed in a timely manner. This may include delayed or wrong diagnoses. Both delayed and wrong diagnoses are considered a failure to diagnose. A failure to diagnose may constitute a variety of circumstances, including:
- Failing to recognize the correlation of symptoms to a serious medical condition
- Misinterpreting test results
- Failing to take a patient’s medical history or risk factors into account
- Misreading the results of medical imaging or laboratory testing
- Failing to order the correct tests to diagnose a condition
What Must I Prove to Win a Medical Malpractice Claim?
Healthcare providers should be held responsible for any harm they cause to patients. If a healthcare provider failed to diagnose your condition or failed to diagnose your condition in a timely manner and you sustained harm, you likely have a valid medical malpractice claim.
To win your claim, the following must be proven (known as the Four D’s):
- Duty of care: You were the healthcare provider’s patient, so the provider owed you a duty of care.
- Dereliction (breach of duty): Either through an act or omission, the provider failed to adhere to the standards that a professional in the same specialty would have followed under the same or similar circumstances.
- Damages: You suffered physical, emotional, or financial harm. In the event of a wrongful death suit, the family may be able to recoup further losses, including burial and funeral expenses.
- Direct cause: The provider’s actions are the direct cause of your harm.
Evidence is Key in Medical Malpractice Cases
Medical records, including physician’s notes, medical imaging and/or laboratory testing, discharge paperwork, after-visit summaries, and witness testimony, are all gathered in medical malpractice suits to determine liability. At Parham Smith & Archenhold LLC, our Greenville medical malpractice attorneys work with a team of medical professionals who can provide insight into the error and how the physician could have avoided the misstep. Proving malpractice can be complex, requiring that you rely on the support of professionals to handle the entire process.
Speak with Our Greenville Medical Malpractice Attorneys Today
Medical malpractice can take a significant toll on an individual and their family members. If you or a loved one have fallen victim to a healthcare professional’s negligence, the Greenville medical malpractice lawyers at Parham Smith & Archenhold LLC would like to hear from you. To learn the true worth of your medical malpractice case, contact us online or give us a call today.