Failure To Diagnose Attorneys

A missed diagnosis, sometimes referred to as a failure to diagnose, is a form of medical malpractice in which a health care professional does not diagnose a serious illness or medical condition that is affecting a patient and which a reasonably prudent health care professional would have diagnosed under the same or similar circumstances. A related problem is delayed diagnosis, which occurs when unreasonable delays in diagnosing a serious illness or medical condition that is affecting a patient result in serious harm.

If you believe you’ve been the victim of medical malpractice, it is important to seek help from a skilled and experienced attorney like our lawyers at Kaire & Heffernan, PLLC. Our firm has been fighting for clients in the Miami area since 1997. We are well-versed in medical malpractice law and have a strong track record of success on behalf of our clients.

Commonly Misdiagnosed Conditions

Failure to diagnose or delayed diagnosis may be referred to as a “misdiagnosis.” Unfortunately, misdiagnosis of medical conditions is somewhat common. Some of the most frequently misdiagnosed conditions include:

• Aortic dissection
• Appendicitis
• Blood clots and related conditions like deep vein thrombosis
• Many types of cancer, especially breast, colon, lung, prostate and rectal cancer
• Diabetes
• Heart attack
• Infection or sepsis
• Labor and delivery complications leading to birth injuries in newborn babies
• Pneumonia
• Pulmonary embolism
• Stroke

The consequences of a failure to diagnose may be devastating, or even fatal, for the patient. For example, a doctor may fail to diagnose an illness in its early stages if the doctor does not identify the symptoms. As a result, the patient will suffer from the sickness indefinitely. In other cases, the doctor may delay diagnosing a progressive illness like diabetes or cancer, and the delay may allow the disease to develop severe complications (such as amputations or loss of eyesight in diabetes) or spread to other parts of the body (as in many cancers). Sometimes, too, with acute conditions like appendicitis, heart attack or stroke, a failure to diagnose the condition may lead to the patient’s death.

Why Does Misdiagnosis Occur?

There are numerous reasons for misdiagnosis. Common causes include:

• The distraction of the health care professional who is treating the patient
• Errors in reading medical test results
• Failure to differentiate among medical conditions that have similar or common symptoms
• Failure to pay close enough attention to a patient’s complaints and symptoms to diagnose the patient’s illness
• Failure to recognize the patient’s symptoms
• Failure to spend enough time with a patient to develop a full medical history
• Poor sampling techniques for medical tests

Misdiagnosis may deprive you or a loved one of the chance to fight a serious disease like cancer, diabetes or heart disease or to make informed decisions about your health. The misdiagnosis may also result in expensive treatments and medical bills as well as financial losses. The financial losses may include lost wages from the time you missed work and the value of lost future wages. You may also endure pain and suffering, for which you may be able to obtain legal compensation under Florida law.

Things To Know About Filing A Misdiagnosis Lawsuit In Florida

All medical malpractice claims involve complicated issues. Here are some important things to keep in mind as you move forward with your pursuit for justice:

• The statute of limitations in Florida for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit is usually two years from the date of injury. However, since a mistaken diagnosis or a missed diagnosis may not be immediately apparent, the victim has up to four years to file a claim. In cases involving fraud or concealment on the part of the provider, that time limit can be extended by an additional two years. No medical malpractice claim can be made after seven years, regardless of the situation.
• Florida law defines a “reasonably prudent health care professional” as a medical practitioner who exercises the same level of skill, care and knowledge that would be expected of a similar medical provider in the same field, and under similar circumstances. This standard is used to determine whether the medical provider’s actions were appropriate given the situation. In other words, a specialist would likely be held to a higher standard of care than a general practitioner.
• In cases involving misdiagnosis or a missed diagnosis, proving negligence generally involves four key steps: Proving the existence of a doctor-patient relationship, demonstrating that the medical provider breached the applicable standard of care, showing that their breach either directly caused the patient’s injury or worsened their condition, and proving that the injury caused actual damages, such as increased medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, or death.

It’s important to note that if the victim of a misdiagnosis dies as a result of their medical provider’s error, Florida’s wrongful death statute permits the personal representative of their estate to bring a wrongful death claim against the provider. Although initiated on behalf of the deceased’s estate, wrongful death claims are designed to benefit the victim’s surviving family members.

Let Us Investigate Your Case And Help You Seek Justice

If you or a loved one has been injured by a missed or delayed diagnosis, please seek appropriate medical treatment immediately. Then contact our firm for a free and confidential consultation about your case. You may contact us online or phone us at 305-376-7860. We serve clients in and around Miami, Florida. Se habla español.