When you are sick, you go to the doctor for a diagnosis and proper treatment. If your doctor fails to properly diagnose you, you may end up sicker than you were before your visit. In such cases, you may be entitled to monetary compensation for your physical pain and suffering, emotional and mental distress, loss of wages, and anything else caused directly by the diagnostic error.
Common Types of Diagnostic Errors
A diagnostic error is a misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis or a failure to diagnose the disease or illness causing a patient’s medical problems. If you have believe that you are a victim of a diagnostic error or misdiagnosis, you should immediately consult with a New York medical malpractice attorney.
Regardless of the type of diagnostic error, the result is a delay in the care you needed to treat your illness, which can possibly lead to further injury or to a spread of your disease or illness. Below are some of the more common types of diagnostic error:
- Misdiagnosis: a misdiagnosis happens when a healthcare professional identifies the wrong health condition based on the symptoms the patient presents.
- Failure to diagnose: a failure to diagnose happens when a healthcare professional misses the connection between the patient’s symptoms and his or her overall condition.
- Delayed diagnosis: a delayed diagnosis happens when a healthcare professional initially misses the connection between the patient’s symptoms and his or her overall condition.
How Diagnostic Error Occur
Diagnostic errors or misdiagnosis occur for various reasons, such as a healthcare professional’s incompetence, inexperience or negligence. Other reasons why diagnostic errors may happen include:
- Lack of proper care and attention to the symptoms presented by the patient
- Failure to order necessary tests to properly diagnose a medical condition based on the symptoms
- Failure to refer a patient to a specialist
- Failure to take heed of a patient’s personal or family medical history which could indicate a possible medical condition given the patient’s presenting symptoms
- Failure to Diagnose Cancer
If you or a loved one is suffering as a result of a diagnostic error or misdiagnosis, you may be entitled to monetary damages. An experienced New York medical malpractice attorney will treat you with the respect you deserve and will fight to get you the maximum damages that you deserve.
Contact Us
To learn more about medical malpractice or to schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our experienced New York medical malpractice attorneys, please call Gersowitz Libo & Korek, P.C. at 1-800-529-9997.
