Delayed Diagnosis
In today’s modern climate of medicine, many recent breakthroughs have made it possible to care for patients at a rate and manner that was never believed possible. With all illnesses, early intervention is the best way to avoid facing complications. For example, if a person is able to catch cancer early enough then there is much less of chance that the illness will spread through a person’s body and advance into later stages and other organs. As a result, it can be particularly frustrating when a physician or other
medical provider fails to promptly diagnose a person’s signs and symptoms.
Delayed diagnosis can have particularly tragic consequences. Sometimes, failure to promptly diagnose a condition can result in the illness becoming too advanced to be treated effectively. If you are impacted by a delayed diagnosis that resulted in you having to combat a condition that was otherwise preventable, it is important to remember that you likely have a strong claim on which to base a medical malpractice case. A seasoned attorney like the legal counsel at the Law Office of Randolph Rice can help make sure that your case is as strong as possible so that you receive the compensation that you deserve for your injuries.
Common Causes of Delayed Diagnosis
Many people trust medical professionals to properly recognize systems, order adequate tests, and correctly diagnose a condition. Unfortunately, there are number of negligent ways in which medical professionals can end up failing to diagnose a condition. Some of the most common reasons why patients receive a delayed diagnosis include:
- Failure to admit a patient for emergency treatment
- Failure to diagnose known or likely complications
- Failure to follow accepted post-surgical standards
- Failure to note patient complaints
- Failure to order the appropriate test
- Failure to recognize the most serious diagnosis
- Failure to refer a patient to the appropriate specialist
- Failure to treat a heart attack in a timely fashion
- Lost paperwork
- Medical chart errors
- Misreading diagnostic imaging, medical charts, or test results.
Consequences of Delayed Diagnosis
Sometimes, a delayed diagnosis does not result in much harm to a patient. In many cases, however, a patient’s health can become much worse as the result of a delayed diagnosis. In the cases of cancer, the condition can further spread through a person’s body resulting in a condition that is harder to treat with available methods like chemotherapy and radiation. Heart condition if not properly treated with early intervention can result in complications like bypass surgery, which is a particularly invasive surgery that requires a long period of time to recover. In other cases of delayed diagnosis, a patient might experience complications like blindness, nerve damage, paralysis, the loss of internal organs, or the need for amputations due to complications associated with later forms of a disease.
Discover How a Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Help Your Case
Each year, a large number of patients are impacted by delayed diagnosis which turns easily treated conditions into much larger obstacles. If you or a loved one has been impacted by a medical provider’s negligence, a seasoned medical malpractice attorney can help you navigate the process of pursuing a malpractice claim. At the Law Offices of Randolph Rice we will review the facts of your case and determine what your best options are for obtaining the compensation that you deserve. Our legal counsel can also collect important evidence about your claim which includes expert witness testimony and medical records. While medical malpractice cases can prove to be particularly challenging, attorney Rice will remain committed to obtaining the compensation you deserve. Contact our law office today for assistance.
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