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Not all instances of medical malpractice happen because of an error in the operating room. Preventable harm can also result from a medical professional failing to diagnose an illness and delaying treatment. Sadly, failing to identify and diagnose a severe disease can have fatal consequences for patients.
When a failure to detect an illness occurs because of a medical professional’s carelessness, there are laws allowing patients to seek legal action through a medical malpractice claim. Schedule a consultation with an experienced Erie failure to diagnose lawyer to review your options and learn more.
Understanding Failure to Diagnose Cases
Failure to diagnose claims may involve doctors, nurses, healthcare facilities, or any licensed providers providing medical care to patients. Some examples of why a medical professional may fail to provide a timely and accurate diagnosis include:
- Busy doctors rushing through examinations and missing symptoms of a disease
- Technicians making medical lab errors
- Lack of a thorough consultation with patients about their symptoms
- Error in the interpretation of lab results or other testing
- Mistakenly diagnosing the patient with a different illness
- Mixing up patient lab specimens or imaging results
- Failing to refer the patient to a healthcare specialist
- Failing to recognize the presence of symptoms of certain diseases
Establishing that a doctor failed to diagnose an illness is not cause for legal action. There must also be proof that the delay in treating the disease caused the individual to suffer harm that would not have occurred if they had been appropriately diagnosed. An Erie attorney has experience handling failure to diagnose cases and can help build a solid case establishing fault as well as the losses a patient experienced.
The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act
After suffering injuries at the hands of healthcare professionals in Erie, state laws allow patients to seek compensation. The Medical Care Availability and Reduction of Error Act is legislation in Pennsylvania that governs medical malpractice cases and provides that providers must carry a minimum malpractice insurance coverage amount to ensure they can compensate patients when errors occur. A few essential statutory rules are in this legislation that may affect a failure to diagnose case. These rules include the statute of limitations and the requirement for an Affidavit of Merit.
These cases must be filed within two years of the date a patient reasonably discovers their misdiagnosis or the harm it caused. In addition, a medical professional must review the case to affirm that there is cause to proceed with a lawsuit. A failure to diagnose lawyer in Erie can review applicable laws to ensure an injured patient meets all procedural requirements for taking legal action.
Call a Knowledgeable Failure to Diagnose Attorney in Erie
Anyone who visits a doctor expects to receive an appropriate and acceptable level of medical care. When providers are careless and fail to accurately diagnose a condition, patients have every right to expect them to pay for the damages. Unfortunately, these cases are more common than most would think, and patients suffer harm at the hands of the people they place their trust in to keep them healthy.
If you suffered injuries or lost someone you love because of the careless actions of a healthcare provider, schedule an appointment with a seasoned Erie failure to diagnose lawyer. Call soon to begin preparing your case.
