One particularly dangerous form of medical malpractice is the failure to diagnose a medical condition. Failure to diagnose occurs when a healthcare provider fails to identify a medical condition and this failure causes harm to the patient. Some medical conditions like heart attacks must be promptly diagnosed to save the patient’s life. Others like cancer progress rapidly, and a failure to diagnose can result in a lowered chance of survival or being exposed to more aggressive medical treatments that they could have avoided had they received a timely diagnosis.
A failure to diagnose or a delay in diagnosis can cause substantial harm to patients. If you believe that your healthcare provider negligently failed to diagnose your condition and you were injured as a result, the dedicated failure to diagnose lawyers at Eisenberg Winkler Jeck Schwartz Schoenhaus & Sherry, P.C., are here to help.
Our firm fights zealously to protect the rights of patients throughout Philadelphia and surrounding areas. Contact us for a free consultation to discuss your legal rights and options after a failure to diagnose.
How Our Failure to Diagnose Lawyers Can Help
If you have been harmed by the negligent actions or inactions of healthcare providers, you need a team who will fight aggressively to protect your rights. Eisenberg Winkler Jeck Schwartz Schoenhaus & Sherry, P.C., offers world-class legal representation from knowledgeable and experienced failure-to-diagnose attorneys. We have a track record of success due to our:
- Thorough case preparation – We prepare every case from the start as though it was going to trial. For us, going to trial is not an idle threat. We are ready to go to court if that is the best path forward for your case. Insurers and defendants know we are serious and prepared to take your case all the way.
- Accurate assessment of damages – Many patients underestimate the long-term effects that a healthcare provider’s negligence can cause. We will thoroughly assess your case and determine the full extent of your damages so that we demand all that is due.
- Ample resources – At ER Legal, we dedicate our own resources to cases. We also have a network of experts we can turn to for additional support for your case.
- Personalized attention – Our lawyers prioritize our client’s needs. We keep clients up-to-date on their cases and provide one-on-one attention.
Our Medical Malpractice Case Results
Our attorneys have seen far too often how people’s lives are forever changed due to negligent care. We have championed results for our clients who have suffered needlessly due to failure to diagnose, including:
- $11.2 million for a single mother whose brain tumor was not diagnosed promptly
- $8.9 million for an infant who suffered brain damage after the hospital failed to diagnose fetal distress after a pattern of non-reassuring fetal heart rate emerged
- $5 million for the family of a 10-week-old baby who was improperly discharged after the hospital failed to diagnose him with meningitis
- $4 million for a man who became paralyzed after his surgeon failed to timely identify and treat a spinal infection
What Is a Failure to Diagnose?
Failure to diagnose is when a medical professional or team does not recognize and identify a set of symptoms that indicate a severe condition or disease. As a result, the patient will experience unnecessary suffering due to a potentially fatal delay in appropriate medical treatment.
While not all instances of a failure to diagnose provide grounds for a lawsuit, here are some scenarios that could make a patient eligible for compensation:
- A doctor fails to refer a patient to a relevant specialist
- A medical professional misinterprets lab test results
- A physician does not investigate what might be causing reported symptoms
- A nurse does not properly consult with the patient about their symptoms
- A specialist fails to conduct diagnostic tests for a particular condition
- A medical team does not follow up with a patient properly.
What Is the Difference Between Failure to Diagnose and Misdiagnosis?
While failure to diagnose and misdiagnosis are related medical errors, there are some key differences:
- A failure to diagnose occurs when a healthcare provider fails to recognize that a patient has a medical condition and does not offer a diagnosis. This often happens because symptoms are overlooked, testing is not ordered, or a diagnostic error occurs.
- A misdiagnosis occurs when a healthcare provider incorrectly diagnoses a patient with a medical condition they do not actually have based on symptoms, test results, or other factors. In some cases, a patient may be misdiagnosed with a minor illness when they actually have a much more severe condition. That could lead to life threatening harm from failure to receive much needed treatments.
Both errors can have the same result: a delay in proper treatment and unnecessary harm suffered by the patient. However, they often arise from different root causes in the diagnostic process. Understanding this difference is critical when building a malpractice case to show the specific way in which the healthcare professional violated the duty they owed their patient.
Major Causes of Failure to Diagnose
A failure to diagnose can occur for many different reasons, including:
- Failure to properly interpret test results
- Failure to order proper tests
- Negligently performed tests or screenings
- Paperwork mix-ups
- Failure to reconcile medications
- Failure to listen to a patient’s symptoms and medical history
- Incompetence
- Healthcare provider fatigue or impairment
- Failure to act according to a differential diagnosis
What Do I Have to Prove in a Failure to Diagnose Case
To successfully prove a failure to diagnose and receive compensation, three key elements must be established:
- Breach of standard of care – Healthcare providers must offer the same quality of diagnostics and care that a competent doctor or other medical professional would supply under similar circumstances. You must prove that the medical professional violated the standard of care.
- Causation – There must be a direct causal link between breaching the standard of care by failing to diagnose and the harm you have suffered. Close timing between emerging symptoms, lack of diagnosis, and disease advancement could strengthen causation arguments.
- Damages – You must have suffered calculable financial and personal losses due to the failure to diagnose. That could include higher healthcare costs, worse health outcomes, lost income, disability, pain, and suffering.
With sound evidence proving each of the above elements, victims can make a strong claim that they suffered the effects of medical malpractice and deserve to be adequately compensated . Our attorneys can help assemble the required materials.
Potential Compensation in Failure to Diagnose Cases
A failure to diagnose can cause serious long-term effects. You may be able to recover compensation for:
- Additional medical expenses you incurred because of the negligent healthcare provider’s mistake
- Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and rehabilitation services
- Medical devices you have to purchase
- Prescription medications
- Lost income
- Physical and mental pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
The potential compensation available for your claim will depend on the facts and circumstances surrounding your claim. Working with an experienced failure-to-diagnose lawyer can give you a better idea about the financial recovery at stake.
Statute of Limitations For Medical Malpractice Claims
Every state has statutes of limitations that provide a deadline by which you must file a legal claim to preserve your right to recovery. In Pennsylvania, the general statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims is two years from the date the medical mistake occurred. However, there are various exceptions to this deadline, most notably the “discovery rule.”
The discovery rule allows victims more time to file a claim if they did not know about the mistake. If the victim could not have reasonably discovered the mistake at the time the healthcare provider made it, the two-year statute of limitations does not start until the patient “discovered” it or reasonably should have discovered it. This is a particularly helpful rule in failure to diagnose cases because the patient often will not know about the mistake until months or years later after they are properly diagnosed. However, no medical malpractice claims can be filed more than seven years from the date the mistake was made, even if the victim discovers it after that timeframe.
How Our Failure To Diagnose Negligence Lawyers Can Help
If you suffered an injury due to a healthcare provider’s failure to diagnose your condition, you need a skilled attorney who will fight for your rights and for the financial recovery you deserve. Eisenberg Winkler Jeck Schwartz Schoenhaus & Sherry, P.C., has an established network of medical experts who complete certificates of merit to support our clients’ failure to diagnose claims. Our experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys can guide you through the process after doctor failed to diagnose you and be there for you at every turn.We are here for you for life’s toughest trials. Contact us today to speak to a knowledgeable failure-to-diagnose lawyer.
BUSINESS INFORMATION
Eisenberg Winkler Jeck Schwartz Schoenhaus & Sherry, P.C.
1634 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA, 19103
Phone: (215) 585-2814
Email: info@erlegal.com
