A delayed diagnosis can cause serious health issues, huge medical bills, or even, in extreme cases, result in the death of the victim. A medical malpractice attorney in Washington, DC, can help you decide whether a delayed diagnosis in your case is a good reason to bring a malpractice claim.
When Does a Delayed Diagnosis Become Malpractice?
To prove that a delayed diagnosis is malpractice, you must show four main elements. First, that the medical provider in question owed you a duty of care, and this begins when the doctor/patient relationship begins. Typically this element is relatively easy to prove. Second, you have to show that the doctor breached their duty to you by not providing you with the accepted standard of care. This means that the doctor did not act in the way a reasonable doctor, with the same training, would have acted in the same situation. Proving this usually requires you to get expert medical opinions from other doctors who can testify that you were not treated according to the standard of care.Third, you will need to show that this breach in the standard of care and duty towards you actually caused you harm. It must be the direct cause of a worse outcome for you, such as needing more aggressive treatment or suffering some kind of permanent damage. Finally, you’ll have to show that you suffered damages, which are quantifiable losses like medical bills, lost wages from time you missed at work, and pain and suffering as you endured the harm caused by the delayed diagnosis.
Proving Malpractice in Delayed Diagnosis Cases
Building a case for delayed diagnosis malpractice requires a lot of evidence. You’ll need to compile all your medical records, tests, bills and receipts, patient notes, and everything else to show exactly what the doctor knew and when they knew it. Then you will need medical experts to identify where the provider fell short and show exactly what should’ve been done. For example, you might bring in an expert to testify that the symptoms you were showing at the time were highly suggestive of cancer, but no biopsy was ordered.One of the hardest parts about proving malpractice is proving causation. You have to show that it was the delay that directly worsened your outcome, and this can be hard because medicine is not always an exact science. Sometimes, even when doctors have done absolutely everything right, they miss things. At LawMD Chartered, we’re not just lawyers: we’re doctors who have transitioned to the courtroom, and our team is made up of specialists from across the medical fields. We can help you understand whether malpractice is likely, and we know exactly what is needed to prove it.
Talk to a Washington, DC Medical Malpractice Attorney Today
If you suspect that a delayed diagnosis has caused you harm, talk to a malpractice lawyer as soon as you can. We’ll carefully review all your records, talk with whatever needed experts can shed light on your unique situation, and build a case for you. We’ll handle negotiation with the insurance companies and even represent you in court if it comes to that. The faster we get started, the better the representation we can provide you, so reach out to LawMD Chartered in Washington, DC now for help.
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