You depend on medical providers to give you the best care possible. Your treatment depends on your receiving a correct diagnosis. When you are misdiagnosed, the results can be catastrophic.
There are legal remedies available if you or a loved one was misdiagnosed and received the wrong medications or treatment. Understanding when a misdiagnosis crosses the line to medical malpractice can help your case succeed.
Understanding the legal standards can help you prepare your case
If a nurse, doctor or specialist has misdiagnosed (or failed to diagnose) something serious, it could be lifechanging. Laboratory tests can also be misdiagnosed.
Understanding medical malpractice legal standards can help you recognize when a diagnosis was incorrect. That can help you recover the money you need.
The court will determine:
- Significant loss. You will have to demonstrate the misdiagnosis resulted in a disability, loss of income, pain and suffering, hardship or future medical bills. You will also be required to prove negligence if there was a death.
- Standard of care. Was your care acceptable, prudent and reasonable? You have the right to expect your healthcare professionals provided care that other doctors and specialists prescribed for similar cases.
- If you want your claim to succeed you will have to prove that negligence caused your injuries. Remember, you do not have a case just because you did not get the outcome you wanted.
Cause and effect are keys in many misdiagnosis and medical malpractice cases
There will be one important question that must be answered. Did the misdiagnosis cause additional pain and suffering?
That could mean the misdiagnosis (or failure to diagnose) resulted in an injury that was more debilitating or caused unnecessary pain and suffering or death. Understanding these standards can help you determine if you have a case.
