New York Misdiagnosis Attorney
One of the more common reasons a healthcare provider commits malpractice is the misdiagnosis or delayed a diagnosis of an injury, sickness or another medical complication. When a medical professional’s error leads directly to incorrect or delayed treatment or a lack of treatment, a patient’s outcomes may suffer, leading to worsening symptoms or even death. On the other hand, true medical malpractice differs from simple provider error. A New York City misdiagnosis lawyer can help you understand if you have a case against your health care provider.
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What Is Medical Malpractice?
Medical malpractice is more than a simple mistake or lapse in judgment. In order to collect compensation for negligence, an injured patient must prove:
- That a doctor-patient relationship existed: You can’t pursue a lawsuit on the grounds of bad medical advice you overheard at a dinner party.
- The doctor or health care provider committed negligence: In other words, he or she did not provide treatment in accordance with best practices or in a manner deemed reasonably skillful.
- The doctor’s negligence led directly to a patient’s injury, worsening symptoms, or a poor health outcome.
- The patient’s injury led to specific economic or general damages.
Medical malpractice cases often hinge on providing sufficient evidence for the second and third principles — did the health care provider actually commit negligence, and was the patient harmed by this negligence?
Negligence And Misdiagnosis In New York City
A simple delayed diagnosis or even a misdiagnosis is not enough in itself to prove a doctor was negligent. Skilled and competent doctors still make diagnostic errors throughout the course of their care. True negligence stems from action or inaction that deviates from the standard of care. In other words, a negligent doctor may fail to do something that a reasonably skillful doctor would not, under the same or similar circumstances.
In a suspected case of medical malpractice due to misdiagnosis, the legal team representing the injured patient talks to a similarly trained physician and asks them to complete a “differential diagnosis.” This is a systematic method physicians use to identify and assign a probability to possible diagnoses. In other words, an injured patient must show that a physician with similar pedigree and training would have included the true diagnosis in their differential diagnosis.
A healthcare provider may commit negligence by failing to order proper diagnostic tests, failure to refer to the appropriate specialist, or even failure to diagnose a related condition. Misdiagnosis errors are most common in emergency room settings, where less common conditions are more likely to be misdiagnosed. Up to 57% of children under the age of 12, for example, receive a delay in, or misdiagnosis of, appendicitis in emergency department settings.
Your Misdiagnosis Attorney In NYC
Effectively litigating a medical malpractice case requires experience and a track record of success. At Meirowitz & Wasserberg, LLP, we’ve amassed millions in settlements and court judgments for our clients — and now our New York City personal injury attorneys are ready to work for you. We’re committed to helping you recover damages for yours or a loved ones injuries and get your life back on track. To learn more about our medical malpractice services, or to take advantage of our contingency fee legal process today, contact us to schedule a free case evaluation.
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