Minnesota Misdiagnosis Lawyer
One of the most common types of medical malpractice claims are those involving a medical misdiagnosis. Doctors who fail to properly diagnose their patients put those individuals in great harm. When patients are not properly diagnosed, they cannot receive the treatment and medication they need. In the case of a misdiagnosis, they may even receive medication or treatment that exacerbates their condition and makes it worse. If you or someone you love has been harmed by a misdiagnosis, you may be able to file a claim for financial compensation. A Minnesota misdiagnosis lawyer can help you claim the full settlement you deserve.
What is a Medical Misdiagnosis?
Doctors are required to provide all patients they treat with the highest standard of care. Any failure to do so is considered negligence and doctors can be held liable for it. The same standards of care apply whether a doctor is initially diagnosing a patient or just finishing up their treatment. Doctors who fail to run the appropriate tests, review the patient’s full medical history, or otherwise do not provide the proper standard of care, place patients at great risk of suffering unnecessary harm. A misdiagnosis can happen in a number of ways, but the most common of these are as follows:
- Delayed diagnosis: Time is of the essence when doctors are diagnosing and treating patients and when doctors do not act quickly enough, the patient’s condition can worsen. For example, a doctor may tell a patient with heart attack symptoms that they are only suffering from indigestion. It is only when the patient returns with more severe symptoms that the doctor makes a heart attack diagnosis.
- Failure to diagnose: Doctors sometimes fail to properly diagnose a condition at all. For example, a doctor may order tests for a patient but misinterpret the results, telling the patient everything came back normal.
- Inaccurate diagnosis: Perhaps the most common type of medical misdiagnosis, this occurs when a doctor tells a patient they are suffering from one illness, when they are actually suffering from another.
Any of the above types of medical misdiagnosis place patients at great risk. After they suffer harm, they can then file a medical malpractice against the at-fault doctor.
Why Does Medical Misdiagnosis Occur?
The majority of medical misdiagnoses are caused by negligent, or careless, healthcare professionals. The most common cases of medical misdiagnosis occur as a result of:
- Failing to order the proper medical tests
- Failing to correctly interpret medical tests and charts
- Failing to correctly interpret CT scans, ECGs, and the results from other medical procedures
- Failing to ask a patient about their symptoms
- Failing to follow up with patients about their symptoms
- Inadequate communication between the different healthcare providers of the patient
When doctors make the above mistakes, heart attacks, strokes, cancer, and infections go undiagnosed. For many patients, such mistakes are fatal.
Call Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Minnesota After a Misdiagnosis
At Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman, LLC, our Minnesota medical malpractice lawyers know the devastation that follows a misdiagnosis. If you or someone you love has been hurt, call us today or contact us online to schedule a free consultation and to receive the legal advice you need.
