Delayed Diagnosis

Medical Malpractice Lawyer for Massachusetts Residents

We rely on medical professionals to diagnose our health problems and to help us get the treatment that we need. Although some conditions can be difficult to diagnose, doctors are expected to use a certain standard of care when it comes to assessing your condition and providing you with treatment. A dedicated Massachusetts medical malpractice attorney affiliated with our firm is available to assist you with seeking the compensation you deserve if a healthcare professional has failed to use appropriate care in evaluating and diagnosing your case. Medical conditions can be difficult to understand, and knowing what you have to prove to recover compensation can be overwhelming when you are already coping with the ongoing outcome of a misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or failure to diagnose. Let us help you and your family during this incredibly stressful time.

Delayed Diagnosis in Medical Cases Can Lead to Unnecessary Injuries

When you go to the doctor seeking medical care for a particular condition or symptom, your provider will often perform a series of tests to figure out what is going on. In some cases, the symptoms can be so general that it may take time to rule out different possibilities and to find the exact cause of the symptoms that you are experiencing. Some medical cases also may have symptoms that are hard to identify or understand. But the purpose behind screenings and running a variety of tests is to detect problems before they become serious or even fatal.

In the medical field, doctors are required to stay current with medical research and to understand the series of tests that they should run in relation to certain symptoms that you may be experiencing. Also, doctors are required to notify their patients when it is time to perform certain tests and screenings, and to alert the patient when he or she may be overdue for something. If proper screening does not take place, a condition that could have been prevented may become a serious problem for the patient. Some common examples of conditions that may be prone to delayed diagnosis are cancer, heart attack, orthopedic injuries, infection, meningitis, internal bleeding, and aneurysms.

When it comes to a delayed diagnosis, doctors may also fall behind on timing and reading charts or reports. Although doctors have a heavy caseload, they owe a duty of care to each patient to ensure that results are reviewed in a reasonable time frame and to provide you with their diagnosis promptly.

Bringing a Medical Malpractice Claim to Recover Compensation

Proving that a doctor failed to diagnose you promptly committed medical malpractice requires more than just showing a delayed diagnosis. You have to show that the doctor failed to provide you with prompt and thorough medical care similar to how another doctor would have acted according to the generally accepted medical practices in your region. The particular training and experience that the doctor had must also be taken into consideration. It is not enough to show that the doctor simply failed to arrive at the right diagnosis. Medical malpractice law accounts for a certain margin of error when it comes to a doctor diagnosing a patient. Instead, you must show that the error at issue departed from the applicable standard of care. Examples of this sort of departure or breach can include failing to order tests that a reasonably prudent doctor would order, failing to read test results promptly, or failing to inform you of screenings and other tests that you should undergo. A medical malpractice attorney serving Massachusetts can review the facts of your case to determine whether you may be able to fulfill this element of your claim.

If you can prove that the healthcare professional who treated you was negligent, you must next prove that this negligence was the cause of your injury. If the doctor can point to some other substantial factor as the main cause of your injuries then you may be barred from recovering compensation from this healthcare professional. The final stage of the litigation involves determining the amount of compensation that you are entitled to receive, such as compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and reduced quality of life.

Compassionate Medical Malpractice Attorney in Massachusetts

A medical malpractice lawyer affiliated with our firm is available to serve clients in areas around Boston, Cambridge, Waltham, Lowell, Somerville, Quincy, Newton, Norwood, Brookline, Dedham, and Peabody. We know how stressful this situation is for you and your family, and how overwhelming a lawsuit may seem on top of the injuries that you’re experiencing. To schedule a free consultation, call us at  (800) 262-9200 or contact us online