We trust our doctors to provide us with proper and safe medical care. When they don’t, and you suffer injury as a result, you may have a legal claim against your doctor.
These claims, which are established under a theory of negligence, can provide the injured with monetary damages to compensate them for the harm they have suffered.
At Dempsey, Kingsland & Osteen, we can help you recover the most compensation possible for your medical negligence claims arising from a misdiagnosis.
We take pride in being compassionate advocates for our clients, supporting you throughout the entire process.
How do you prove misdiagnosis? Below are some basics about medical misdiagnosis, what to do if you have been misdiagnosed, and how to prove a misdiagnosis.
If you have questions on how to prove a misdiagnosis, please contact us today.
What Is a Medical Misdiagnosis?
What is a medical misdiagnosis? A misdiagnosis is when your doctor provides an incorrect diagnosis, fails to diagnose a medical condition, or improperly delays the diagnosis of your medical condition.
However, not all misdiagnoses give rise to a legal cause of action. Is misdiagnosis medical malpractice? It could be.
To maintain a legal claim for misdiagnosis, you must prove that your doctor did not provide the proper standard of medical care and that this failure caused you harm.
What to Do If You Think You Have Been Misdiagnosed
If you have suffered because of a misdiagnosis, it’s important to take action quickly.
Step 1: Gather Evidence
Gathering evidence is an important step if you believe your doctor misdiagnosed your medical condition. Get a second opinion from a reputable doctor as soon as you suspect a problem.
Keep all your medical bills and records from all doctors you have visited. It can also be helpful to keep a journal of the series of events leading up to, during, and after the misdiagnosis.
Step 2: Hire an Attorney
Hiring an attorney will be crucial to preserving your ability to recover compensation for the injury you suffered as a result of your misdiagnosis.
An attorney can guide you through the process and help you build a strong legal claim.
How To Prove Delayed Diagnosis or Misdiagnosis
Before covering how you can prove a misdiagnosis, it is important to understand the foundations of the legal claim that arises from a misdiagnosis.
Legal claims arising from a doctor’s misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, or improperly delayed diagnosis of your medical condition are rooted in the legal theory of negligence.
Therefore, if you cannot show that your doctor was negligent in some way, you may not have a claim for medical malpractice.
To prove a misdiagnosis, you must establish that a doctor in the same or a similar medical specialty would not have made the same error. This involves demonstrating that the correct diagnosis was not included in the doctor’s assessment and that a competent healthcare professional within that specialty would have included it in their evaluation.
However, if you believe your doctor was negligent, and if you can establish the following elements, it is likely that you will be able to show medical malpractice.
Generally, the required elements of negligence are:
- Duty. If you can establish the doctor-patient relationship, you can most likely show that your doctor had a duty to provide you with a certain standard of medical care.
- Breach. Your doctor must have breached their duty to you by failing to provide the same level of care that a similarly situated medical professional would have provided in the same or similar circumstances.
- Causation. Your doctor’s breach of duty must have been the cause of the injuries for which you are bringing a claim.
- Damages. Your injury must have resulted in harm that can be compensated with damages. Examples of damages include physical disability, disfigurement, mental anguish, medical expenses, wage loss, diminished ability to earn in the future, diminished enjoyment of life, or even death.
If you can show the above elements, you likely have a case for medical malpractice.
Dempsey, Kingsland & Osteen Will Help
At Dempsey, Kingsland & Osteen, we have nearly a century of combined experience dealing with medical malpractice claims.
We want to help you hold the people that caused your injuries accountable. A lot goes into choosing the best medical malpractice lawyer and it starts with contacting them.
To schedule a free consultation about your medical misdiagnosis, you can reach out to our office at 816-290-6896, or you can contact us online.
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The legal team at Dempsey Kingsland Osteen works to ensure that the injured are fully compensated for their lasting injuries from medical malpractice or other negligence. We push for comprehensive damages that anticipate the long-term needs of our clients, rather than taking a quick settlement out of convenience.
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