Patients rely on hospital staff and doctors to make a prompt and accurate diagnosis of medical conditions and order the appropriate treatment. When medical professionals fail to treat patients quickly and properly, injuries and illnesses are likely to advance and worsen, and a Medical Negligence can be filed on behalf of an injured plaintiff.
Physicians and hospital staff should treat serious medical conditions in a prompt manner to give patients the best chance of a minimal adverse health consequences and survival.
Failure to diagnose lawsuits are possible when hospital staff, nurses, doctors and surgeons fail to accurately diagnose a patient or delay diagnostic lab tests that complicate a health condition and results in injury or wrongful death.
Joe Lyon is a highly-rated Hospital Error Lawyer and Medical Malpractice Attorney investigating failure to diagnose lawsuits for injured plaintiffs nationwide.
Failure to Diagnose Lawsuits
It is crucial to correctly diagnose conditions quickly so a medical team can begin the proper treatment as soon as possible. Delay in Diagnosis and failing to diagnose may lead to health complications, the progression of a serious condition, permanent injury and death.
Doctors and nurses are not perfect, and have known to misdiagnose patients which leads to improper treatment and the worsening of the underlying condition.
Radiologists, lab techs, pharmacists, nurses and doctors have all been named as defendants in hospital negligence and medical malpractice suits for misinterpreting tests and x–rays, or failing to perform correct diagnostic tests.
Medical Misdiagnosis Lawsuits
Delayed Medical Treatments
Medical treatments can be life-savers, but if a condition isn’t diagnosed, the treatments are delayed and may not be as effective. Hospital negligence plays a huge role in the overall well-being of patients. If hospitals function efficiently and are organized, the medical teams have a better chance to treat patients to the best of their ability.
Delayed diagnoses and failure to treat claims may include the following:
Delayed Cancer Diagnosis
A delayed cancer diagnosis, or a failure to diagnose cancer before the cancer spreads is a fairly common occurrence that can threaten the life o a patient. A timely cancer diagnosis is crucial for the survival of a cancer patient.
When a hospital team fails to diagnose cancer, the patient risks the metastasizing of cancer cells, and delays cancer treatment. Such instances will likely lead to complications. Contact a legal professional to investigate a failure to diagnose cancer to weigh your legal options.
Failure to Diagnose Birth Injury
Birth injuries may not only affect and infect but also the mother. Delivery malpractice lawsuits focus on a hospital’s failure to prevent and diagnose maternal injuries during or after childbirth.
Childbirth injuries can be serious and life-threatening for the mother and child, and birth injury may not present until weeks after delivery.
If a birth injury occurs and doctors fail to follow up with a patient, legal action may be necessary to recover rightful compensation and to protect mothers into the future.
Emergency Room Delay Lawsuits
Hospitals have a tough task in admitting patients in the emergency room, but that is their duty. If a delayed emergency treatment leads to an injury or wrongful death, a plaintiffs may have a delayed treatment case.
Delayed Hospital Treatment
Doctors and medical staff treating serious medical conditions have a duty to act in a prompt manner to give each patient the best chance of a minimal health impact and survival.
Delayed diagnosis lawsuits arise when hospital staff, doctors and surgeons fail to either correctly diagnose a patient or delay diagnostic tests that results in complications, injury or death.
Any delay in medical treatment can be crucial for patients with a variety of health issues. A medical misdiagnosis can result in permanent injury or patient death. Because of the mismanagement of hospitals and medical centers, and the negligence of some medical staff, delayed diagnoses and delayed treatments are becoming more common medical malpractice events.
Injured plaintiffs should contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney to investigate the root cause of an injury and review medical records and to determine who may be held legally liable.
Hospital negligence cases require evidence that a nurse, doctor or hospital management failed to provide the standard of medical care by misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose a patient’s condition quickly and accurately.
Plaintiffs in failure to diagnose lawsuits can seek the recovery of medical costs, lost wages and earnings, rehabilitation expenses, and damages related to pain and suffering and long-term disability.
Delayed Treatment Lawsuits
Medical professionals and hospitals are held responsible in cases where patients are misdiagnosed or are diagnosed but not attended to in a prompt manner.
If doctors have tools at their disposal—MRIs, CT scans, blood tests, EKGs—but fail to use them to make a proper diagnosis, they can be held accountable by plaintiffs filing delayed diagnosis lawsuits.
Plaintiffs will benefit greatly from contacting an experienced medical malpractice attorney to investigate and review medical records and to determine who may be culpable in an injury or death.
Hospital negligence claims will require evidence that a medical professional or hospital breached the standard of medical care by misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose a patient’s condition before complications or death.
Plaintiffs in delayed diagnosis lawsuits can expect to recover past and future medical costs, lost wages and income, rehabilitation expenses, and damages related to pain and suffering and emotional distress.
Diagnosis Errors
For many patients, it is critical to correctly diagnose medical conditions quickly and begin the correct treatment as early as possible. Delaying diagnoses may lead to complications, the progression of a condition, permanent injury or death. Some medical delays and treatment errors begin with doctors who are hesitant to order a myriad of diagnostic tests and lab work.
Doctors and nurse practitioners are also known to misdiagnose patients which ultimately is another way of delayed a proper diagnosis. Radiologists, lab technicians, nurses and doctors may misinterpret tests or x–rays, or fail to perform the correct tests in the first place. Laboratory malpractice is not common, but still occurs from time to time, and with devastating consequences.
A failure to diagnose cancer and other serious medical conditions may be a matter of life and death. If a doctor doesn’t recognize an infection, and it is not treated, a patient’s condition can worsen considerably and may succumb to the infection, which can quickly turn into sepsis or another fatal condition.
A delayed cancer diagnosis may lead to the development of tumors throughout the body. Cancer diagnoses are very time sensitive, and treatment must begin soon after discovery for the best possible prognosis. Failure to diagnose breast cancer in routine exams can lead to malpractice lawsuits.
Some doctors will fail to perform tests because a condition looks very similar to another less severe medical condition. Doctors fail to diagnose lung cancer and other respiratory conditions typically because they present like many other conditions.
