Who Should File a Failure to Diagnose Claim?
By Kevin Davidson
Mar. 18, 2013 9:34a
A doctor’s visit is usually meant to give you relief from some sort of physical ailment or injury that you are experiencing. Doctors today have studied for many years to learn about many different medical problems and the ways they can be treated. The medical practice requires more than mastering this knowledge, it also requires being an instinctive detective to get to the root of your problem. For most doctors, they have honed their skills like a fine tuned machine and their practice is thriving for it.
However, there are cases when doctors have failed to develop the necessary skills to properly diagnose your particular problem and the result is that delays in getting the right treatment can be detrimental to your health. This is the time for you to enlist the support of a good legal attorney experienced in failure to diagnose cases.
To help you to decide whether or not you should file a failure to diagnose case they will guide you through a series of questions. Each question will help them to determine whether or not you have a legitimate case and the extent of damages you should claim.
Be Alert and Insist
A patient must be alert to warning signs that the doctor may be on the wrong track. A doctor that says, “it’s all in your head.” Or says that you are inventing your symptoms, may be a clear indication that he has either failed to check all the possibilities or is not looking in the right direction for a solution. Don’t take no for an answer and keep pressing. Insisting that you get the proper care is one of your patient rights.
Determine the Responsible Parties
Sometimes diagnosis is difficult to determine and the end result is not necessarily the fault of your attending physician. There are times when a patient’s condition demands immediate care and the doctor does not have the time to meditate and analyze the root cause of the problem. Sometimes symptoms do not readily reveal the real cause or the patient may have gone to the wrong type of doctor for treatment. Sometimes insurance companies are the culprits by not allowing the right tests to be done. All of these things must be considered before filing a lawsuit and holding the medical professional liable.
However, if a missed diagnosis is the cause of additional harm to the patient, you will need to have an experienced medical professional to walk you through the myriad of steps involved in filing your claim. You may be able to sue to recover for pain and suffering, additional medical costs incurred and loss of financial income resulting from the misdiagnosis.
This is the time to get a medical malpractice attorney to work on your case. Obviously, your legal settlement will not change your medical condition but it can help you to get financial restitution so that you can work on your recovery. A good lawyer needs to be knowledgeable in both the laws involving proper medical conduct but also needs to know how to follow the chain of medical command. They won’t miss important information to help you with your case. This will insure that you get a fair settlement and compensation for damages to help you to get back on your feet.