Delays in diagnosing and treating illnesses could cause illnesses to get worse, making these issues common causes of malpractice lawsuits against healthcare professionals or facilities. When there is evidence that other professionals in the same field would have recognized the condition and treated it earlier, there could be a cause for taking legal action.
You could be eligible to collect compensation through a medical malpractice claim if a practitioner’s failure to diagnose and treat an illness caused your condition to worsen. Schedule to meet with a seasoned Walterboro failure to diagnose a lawyer to review your case.
Types of Professional Diagnostic Errors in Healthcare
There are three primary types of healthcare professional diagnostic errors: failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, and misdiagnosis.
Failure to Diagnose
Failure to diagnose may occur when a doctor does not recognize that a patient’s symptoms indicate a severe illness. The failure to detect and treat the patient right away could cause the condition to become life-threatening or fatal.
Delayed Diagnosis
A delay in condition diagnosis occurs when the physician or healthcare facility fails to recognize the signs and symptoms of an illness. The delayed diagnosis could cause the patient’s symptoms to get worse or additional complications from the disease. If another healthcare professional in the same field could have recognized the signs of a specific condition sooner, there could be a cause for a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Diagnostic Error
Diagnostic errors involve healthcare professionals mistakenly diagnosing and treating the wrong illness. The lapse in time could cause the condition to grow worse, and ill-suited treatments may cause unnecessary challenges. A Walterboro failure to diagnose attorney could help determine whether a doctor made a legally actionable error after reviewing the case.
Commonly Misdiagnosed Medical Conditions
Knowing what conditions are commonly misdiagnosed can help patients assert their right to fair treatment from medical professionals. Common medical condition misdiagnoses involve:
- Cancer, including breast, melanoma, and lymphoma
- Lyme disease
- Heart disease, such as imminent heart attack
- Internal organ damage, including bleeding
- Aneurysms or stroke
- Meningitis
A failure to diagnose lawyer in Walterboro could review the complete list and answer specific questions about potential liability during an initial consultation.
Time Limit to File Medical Malpractice Cases
The statute of limitations sets the maximum time frame someone has to file a lawsuit against negligent medical professionals. According to the South Carolina Code of Laws Unannotated § 15-3-545, a petitioner must file a lawsuit against healthcare professionals or facilities within three years of the cause of action.
There are specific situations that could extend or shorten the time frame. However, six years is the maximum time frame for filing medical malpractice cases, regardless of the circumstances.
The Notice of Intent and Affidavit of Expert
State civil laws require the plaintiff in medical malpractice cases to complete additional steps to ensure there is cause for legal action. A plaintiff must submit a Notice of Intent that lists any healthcare providers or facilities named in the lawsuit and briefly explains the reason for legal action. Secondly, the plaintiff must request that an expert in the field review the case and file an Affidavit certifying that medical negligence occurred. An attorney could provide vital assistance with gathering these additional documents.
Meet With a Skilled Failure to Diagnose Attorney in Walterboro
Failing to diagnose medical conditions is much more common than many people would like to believe. You could have cause to file a lawsuit for medical malpractice if a doctor fails to provide an appropriate standard of care, causing your illness to grow worse.
Call an experienced Walterboro failure to diagnose lawyer to discuss your legal options for pursuing accountability and compensation. Reach out today.
