If you visit a healthcare professional, you expect to be treated and be on your way. Unfortunately, if you are a victim of medical malpractice because of a failure to diagnose, you could suffer long-term health consequences.
Medical malpractice
Medical malpractice is professional negligence by a healthcare provider, caused when they provide you with substandard treatment and it results in harm. There are several elements that must be met to prove a medical malpractice claim.
The healthcare provider must have owed you a duty of care and must have breached this duty, meaning that their action or lack of action deviated from the care a reasonably competent healthcare professional would provide in the same or similar circumstances.
Their breach of duty must have caused you harm, meaning that you must have suffered actual harm or damages, such as physical injuries, loss of income or emotional distress.
Failure to diagnose
If the healthcare provider fails to diagnose you, your underlying condition can get worse, causing you pain and suffering and negatively affect your quality of life.
If you have a disease, for example, the failure to diagnose can cause it to spread, making treatment less effective. In serious cases, it can result in permanent disability.
This can affect your ability to work, which can impact your family’s financial well-being. You can face depression and anxiety, along with additional medical expenses for procedures that could have been avoided if your diagnoses had initially been accurate.
You may choose to seek compensation for your harm.