In general, an act of medical malpractice is the one in which a medical representative or a medical facility does something (or doesn’t) that a reasonable medical representative or facility would not do (or do) in the same situation. In other words, any form of harm caused to a patient that could have been prevented following the prescribed standards of healthcare may make the patient eligible to initiate a medical malpractice lawsuit. So, how does an instance of delayed diagnosis fits in?
Though there has been a rise in delayed medical diagnosis lawsuits across Miami, most of the people have a vague idea about this category of medical malpractice. The following discussion highlights some of its basic aspects for a clear understanding.
When Is It Not a Medical Malpractice?
Before knowing when delayed diagnosis constitutes medical malpractice, find out when it does not. Here are some examples when a patient:
- Delays seeking medical opinion and is diagnosed with a serious condition
- Fails to disclose all the symptoms he or she experiences
- Hides information regarding past treatments and so on
In each of these situations, a doctor can’t be held responsible for delayed diagnoses and hence, medical malpractice. It is important to seek a legal opinion from Miami medical malpractice attorneys to recognize whether the instance forms the basis for a lawsuit or not.
When Is It Misdiagnosis and Not the Delayed One?
Many people consider both as the same. In reality, misdiagnosis may refer to an instance when a doctor or a medical facility diagnoses incorrect heath conditions. In other words, a patient is diagnosed with a certain medical condition, whereas he or she actually suffers from some other. A patient who suffers losses due to the wrong diagnosis can still file a lawsuit, though the category of medical malpractice would be different.
When Is It a Case of Delayed Diagnosis?
In simple words, a delayed diagnosis occurs when a doctor or a medical facility takes a preventable amount of time to diagnose certain health conditions in a patient. Resultantly, the patient might suffer from losses of physical, mental, emotional or monetary form. You can better understand it through the following examples:
- A doctor ignores certain vital symptoms that the patient mentions. It may lead to delayed recognition of the actual illness or condition.
- A doctor observes some symptoms but fails to conduct consequent tests to reach the right conclusions.
- A laboratory conducts wrong tests, uses faulty equipment or loses/incorrectly records the test results.
- A doctor delays attending a patient or does so in a rush due to overcrowded facilities or lack of assistance.
- A patient is not referred to a medical specialist, though his or her symptoms/test results clearly indicate one such need.
In addition, you must know the consequences due to the above-mentioned instances that can form the basis of a lawsuit.
These include:
- Spread of the disease (like cancer) due to a delay in its recognition
- Medical bills growing due to delay in treatment
- Physical pain or mental trauma or both
- Loss of job/income/ability to work
- Death
How a delayed diagnosis can be proved? A medical malpractice attorney can assist you in this direction.
