When a medical professional makes a diagnostic error, the mistake can result in a less optimistic prognosis or even result in shortening of one’s life. Diagnostic errors by healthcare professionals can lead to ineffective treatment, inappropriate medication and even wrongful death. Medical malpractice claims based on diagnostic mistakes require an experienced medical malpractice attorney supported by knowledgeable medical experts. These cases typically involve extensive review of medical records including analysis of diagnostic tests.
Although not every misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose an illness necessarily constitutes medical malpractice, this type of omission may be the subject of a medical malpractice lawsuit if your doctor should have reached a proper diagnosis by complying with the standard of care of other similar medical professionals in the community. More than 120,000 people per year die because of the failure of a medical professional to properly diagnose a medical condition or illness.
These cases require extensive medical knowledge to determine if proper diagnostic procedures were conducted and to identify faulty interpretations of these procedures. Expert medical opinions also are necessary to establish “causation,” meaning that the delay in diagnosis affected the medical outcome. The typical harm or injury caused by failure to diagnose a serious illness is either a less positive long-term prognosis or even a reduction in life expectancy. For example, the failure to properly diagnose a form of cancer may result in a reduced life expectancy for the cancer victim. We understand that this type of negligent medical care can literally rob a patient of their future and deprive a family of a loved one. Our dedicated and compassionate team works diligently to develop the strongest possible medical malpractice litigation strategy on behalf of those who had a medical condition misdiagnosed, diagnosed in untimely fashion or not diagnosed at all.
Medical malpractice claims based on wrongful diagnosis are extremely complex to litigate. These cases often depend on highly technical interpretation of various diagnostic procedures, including x-rays, MRIs, CT scans and lab results. Our Mississippi medical malpractice attorneys work with medical experts, including oncologists, hematologists, cardiologists, pathologists and other medical forensic experts so that we can develop the most persuasive case possible to establish a departure from the appropriate standard of medical care and that the failure caused a worse outcome.
While many types of cancer are highly treatable if detected early, failure to diagnose cancer cases are complicated by the fact that cancer is often fatal even when properly treated. Sometimes cancer can be diagnosed at very early stages with relatively simple and inexpensive diagnostic procedures including a mammogram for breast cancer or a colonoscopy for colon cancer. Even if it is established that the a doctor failed to conduct appropriate tests that would have revealed cancer at an earlier stage, medical malpractice carriers will typically argue that the delay in diagnosis did not impact the medical outcome. This defense essentially amounts to the position that the patient died from the cancer and that the delayed diagnosis did not impact the life expectancy or medical outcome for the cancer victim.
While our experienced Mississippi failure to diagnose medical malpractice attorneys know that we cannot give you back your health or the life of a loved one that has been lost, we can help you obtain compensation so that you can obtain the best possible medical care and provide for the future of your family. It is tragic when a medical diagnostic mistake is made because a medical professional fails to order appropriate diagnostic screening or misinterprets test results. Our committed team of Mississippi wrongful diagnosis attorneys along with our knowledgeable team of medical experts engages in thorough analysis of medical records and diagnostic tests so that we can prepare a compelling and clear legal position and provide the most persuasive presentation to a judge or jury.