We trust medical providers to provide the best care to our loved ones. However, that unfortunately doesn’t always happen, with many individuals losing their lives due to medical misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses every year. Preventable errors by healthcare providers and healthcare professionals can have devastating effects on a patient’s health, sometimes resulting in wrongful death.
At Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C., we fight for families who have lost loved ones because of medical negligence, including misdiagnoses, and have a track record of successfully recovering the compensation they need. In one medical malpractice case, we recovered $14 million after a hospital and doctors misdiagnosed our client’s condition and delayed performing a necessary MRI.
Accurate diagnoses are crucial in preventing fatal outcomes and ensuring patients receive proper treatment. Families often face emotional trauma, including grief, frustration, and anger, as well as financial strain from medical expenses and lost income after losing a loved one to medical misdiagnosis.
Have you lost a loved one due to a misdiagnosis? Compensation for wrongful death due to medical misdiagnosis can include financial support for loss of income from future wages, medical expenses, funeral costs, and loss of companionship, and the emotional burden is often compounded by the desire for justice. Contact our firm today for a free consultation with an experienced wrongful death medical malpractice lawyer. We’ll help you understand your rights and walk you through the process of seeking the compensation you deserve.
How a Medical Misdiagnosis Wrongful Death Attorney Can Help
For life’s toughest trials, you need experienced trial attorneys. Medical malpractice wrongful death claims are legally complex and emotionally charged, making experienced legal representation essential to protect your interests. Our medical misdiagnosis wrongful death attorneys have extensive experience handling a wide variety of cases caused by completely avoidable patient deaths.
When you work with our firm, we’ll treat you like family and do everything in our power to hold the medical providers financially accountable. That means taking your case to trial and fighting for the rights of you, your loved one, and your family.
One grateful family member said of our legal services:
“Stewart and Brian….You gave my father a chance to fight for his legal rights ….Your efforts have saved many patients from having to face the crippling injury that my father suffered. You did a wonderful, generous thing.” – Mark P.
Some of the ways our Philadelphia medical negligence lawyers can help with your case include:
- Identifying the parties responsible for your loved one’s death
- Gathering supporting evidence to strengthen your medical malpractice wrongful death case
- Working with medical experts to demonstrate how the medical provider’s actions went against the duty of care owed to your loved one
- Calculating the value of your case and fighting for maximum compensation
- Taking your case to trial and not backing down against medical providers and their insurers
An experienced attorney can help gather medical records, consult with expert witnesses, and represent your family during negotiations or in court to ensure your case is as strong as possible.
Families affected by wrongful death caused by medical misdiagnosis have legal recourse and can pursue action through wrongful death claims.
Understanding Wrongful Death and Medical Misdiagnosis
Misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses can lead to fatal outcomes when they prevent patients from receiving life-saving treatments or cause patients to undergo unnecessary treatments that cause them harm. Medical misdiagnosis occurs when a healthcare provider fails to correctly identify, recognize, or diagnose a medical condition, which can result in diagnostic errors and lead to serious harm or even death.
For example, if your loved one was misdiagnosed or had their diagnosis delayed, it could have caused them to go weeks, months, or even years without necessary medical treatment that may have been able to cure their condition or extend their life. A missed or wrong diagnosis can prevent a patient from receiving the correct diagnosis and appropriate treatment, resulting in significant injury. Or, if they were misdiagnosed with a condition that required aggressive treatment, the treatment originally given could have had an adverse effect on their health without providing any benefits.
When medical providers cause patients harm due to their actions, such as a misdiagnosis, or omissions, such as a delayed diagnosis, a medical malpractice claim can arise. These legal claims seek to hold medical providers financially liable for the injuries they caused by deviating from accepted medical norms. To establish medical malpractice, the patient must prove that the misdiagnosis deviated from the accepted standards of medical practice and directly resulted in a significant injury. Expert testimony is often required to determine whether the standard of care was breached.
General malpractice claims can become wrongful death claims when the medical negligence results in the death of the patient. In these cases, rather than the patient seeking compensation for the harm caused to them, the surviving family members seek compensation for the loss of their loved one.
Common Misdiagnoses That Can Lead to Death
Some of the most common medical misdiagnoses that can lead to patient deaths are missed diagnosis, wrong diagnosis, and delayed treatment—these are common forms of diagnostic errors that can result in fatal outcomes. Here is more information about each of these:
- Missed or Delayed Cancer Diagnosis – The longer cancer goes undiagnosed, the harder it becomes to treat, as it grows and potentially spreads to other parts of the body. A missed diagnosis, where a doctor completely fails to recognize a medical condition, or a delayed diagnosis can significantly reduce a patient’s chances of survival, even if they eventually receive the treatment they need.
- Failure to Diagnose Heart Attacks or Strokes – Diagnosing heart attacks and strokes quickly is essential for providing life-saving treatment to patients in need. When doctors and nurses fail to recognize the common symptoms of these conditions, or when a doctor’s misdiagnosis or failure to make the correct diagnosis occurs, it can result in inappropriate or delayed treatment and worsen the patient’s condition, sometimes with fatal consequences.
- Misdiagnosed Infections, Sepsis, or Internal Bleeding – Many conditions are easily treatable as long as they are diagnosed in a timely fashion, including infections, sepsis, and internal bleeding. However, when these conditions are misdiagnosed as something else, or when delayed treatment occurs, such as misdiagnosed infections, patients may be discharged from the hospital without receiving the critical care they need, which can lead to serious complications or death.
- Surgical Errors – Surgical errors are a common form of medical malpractice that can result in wrongful death. Mistakes made during surgery, such as operating on the wrong site or leaving surgical instruments inside the patient, can have devastating and fatal outcomes.
Who Can File a Wrongful Death Claim for Medical Misdiagnosis in Pennsylvania?
Under Pennsylvania Code Rule 2202, the only person who can file a wrongful death claim for medical misdiagnosis following the death is the personal representative of the deceased’s estate. To file a wrongful death claim, it must be established that a doctor-patient relationship existed, creating a duty to provide appropriate medical care. The claim must also show that the healthcare provider’s negligence directly resulted in the patient’s death.
The personal representative files the claim on behalf of all individuals entitled to a portion of the damages recovered through the claim.
Any person entitled to recover damages through the claim can be appointed a personal representative and file a claim on behalf of all others entitled to damages.
These individuals include:
- The deceased’s spouse
- The deceased’s children
- The deceased’s parents
- The deceased’s other next of kin or dependents
In addition to a wrongful death claim, the personal representative can also file a survival action on behalf of the deceased’s estate. This is a separate, but related claim that seeks compensation for the losses the deceased suffered before their death, including medical expenses.
Understanding the Statute of Limitations in Wrongful Death Claims
When a loved one’s life is tragically cut short due to a healthcare provider’s negligence—such as a medical misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis—surviving family members may have the right to file a wrongful death claim. However, one of the most critical factors in these cases is the statute of limitations, which sets a strict time limit for taking legal action. Missing this deadline can mean losing the opportunity to seek compensation and hold the responsible parties accountable.
The time limit for filing a wrongful death lawsuit is two years after the date of death. This time limit also applies to survival actions.
Contact a Medical Misdiagnosis Wrongful Death Attorney for Help
If your loved one died as a result of a medical misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis in Pennsylvania, contact Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C. for a free consultation with an experienced medical misdiagnosis lawyer. Our firm has achieved some of the largest verdicts in Pennsylvania history, and we’re prepared to help you seek fair compensation for your loss.
BUSINESS INFORMATION
Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C.
1634 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA, 19103
Phone: (215) 585-2814
Email: info@erlegal.com
