Medical Malpractice Maryland – Failure to Diagnose
When an individual has a health problem, they trust that their physician will conduct thorough, comprehensive exams and testing to find the root cause of the health concern. Individuals have a reasonable expectation that their physician will correctly diagnose any existing illness or health problem- failure to do so in either Maryland or Washington D.C. is recognized as Medical Malpractice or Medical Negligence. Unfortunately, many individuals have illnesses that go undiagnosed, and these undiagnosed illnesses severely affect their health and quality of life. In some cases, an individual’s health is so impaired that the illness ultimately results in the individual’s death. Medical malpractice can result due to a physician’s failure to diagnose an illness on a timely basis such that the illness can be stopped or controlled. Robinson & Associates is an experienced medical malpractice law firm and can provide victims of medical malpractice with significant assistance in investigating and determine how to handle these matters. Robinson & Associates, medical malpractice lawyers has offices in Maryland and Washington D.C.
Essentially, the failure to diagnose a treatable illness can be defined as the physician’s failure to correctly diagnose a medical condition which had the illness been properly diagnosed, would have been treatable in some fashion. The failure of a physician to diagnose an illness can have serious consequences on the health of the patient. For example, cancer is one of the most common illnesses that physicians fail to diagnose on a timely basis. The physician may prescribe treatment for an illness other than cancer, and this means the root cause of the illness is not being addressed. Because treatment for the root cause of the illness is not administered in a timely fashion, the patient’s health continues to deteriorate causing unnecessary pain and suffering and possibly threatening life.
Failure to diagnose is considered a form of negligence for which the physician may be held responsible and may be liable for damages. Victims of medical malpractice may be entitled to financial compensation for medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost wages. Physicians are required to provide medical care according to the medical community’s standards of care. When physicians fail to provide care according to these standards, medical malpractice may result. Robinson and Associates provides aggressive and experienced legal representation in all Maryland Medical Malpractice and Washington D.C. “failure to diagnose claims.”
While every case of failure to diagnose may not be labeled medical malpractice, individuals that have suffered due to a physician’s failure to diagnose should contact an attorney for a consultation. Our attorneys can help victims understand the Maryland laws regarding medical malpractice and what is necessary to prove a claim in court. Not only will our attorneys work to make sure the physician is held accountable for his or her act of negligence, but our attorneys will also assist the victim and their family in obtaining compensation from the notorious medical malpractice insurance company’s. Robinson and Associates will assist victims every step of the way through their Medical negligence claim.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of medical malpractice in Maryland or Washington D.C., Robinson and Associates can help with immediate and free case reviews. Please feel free to call or click today for more information.
Medical malpractice can occur for a variety of reasons, but one of the most devastating causes of medical malpractice is failure to diagnose. This type of medical malpractice is so extremely devastating because many times the failure to diagnose the patient’s condition leads to their untimely demise. When illnesses such as cancer and heart disease are not diagnosed and treated in a proper and timely manner, the life of the patient may be cut short. With proper diagnosis the condition may have responded well to treatment, and the life of the patient could have been extended for many years. When the patient’s disease continues to go undiagnosed, the patient and his or her family needlessly suffers physically, emotionally, and financially. Patients trust their physicians to care for their health and well-being. When the physician fails to perform his or her professional duties and correctly diagnose the patient’s illness and the patient suffers further injury or death as a result, the physician may have committed medical malpractice.
A physician can fail to properly diagnose the patient’s condition if they fail to read diagnostic tests correctly, if test results get mixed up, if the patient is not properly interviewed to determine symptoms, and if lab results are not interpreted correctly. This can all lead to delayed treatment, which can negatively impact the patient’s health. According to a Harvard study, diagnostic errors resulted in 80,000 deaths annually and accounted for approximately 20-40 percent of physician errors. When physicians fail to recognize symptoms in patients or delay necessary medical testing, the patient could be deprived of critical, life-saving treatment.
One type of cancer this is often misdiagnosed or that goes undiagnosed is breast cancer. When breast cancer is not detected early and treated in the early stages, the consequences can be serious and fatal. There are several reasons why breast cancer may go undetected. Radiologists may misread the mammogram, which can lead to a failure to diagnose. Furthermore, breast biopsy errors often lead to a misdiagnosis as well. In some cases, the doctor simply does not detect the cancer. Whatever the reason for the failure to diagnose, the health of the individual may be irreversibly damaged due to the failure to diagnose.
Failure to diagnose is one of the most common types of misdiagnosis and many medical malpractice lawsuits are the result of failure to diagnose. Individuals that live in Maryland or Washington D.C. that have been the victim of medical malpractice due to failure to diagnose may contact the law firm of Robinson and Associates for a free consultation. Robinson and Associates can provide victims of medical malpractice with expert legal counsel and advice and can help them with their medical malpractice claim.
