Misdiagnosis is not a minor inconvenience or Misdiagnosis Deserve.
It can kill you.
Millions of patients leave their doctor’s office every year feeling confused and without answers. Too often, they’re left with the wrong diagnosis. The resulting financial burden, lost wages, pain, suffering, and even wrongful death can ruin lives. What most people don’t know is that they have options to fight back.
Here’s What This Covers:
- How Often Does Misdiagnosis Happen?
- What is the Statute of Limitations for Misdiagnosis?
- Why Patients Cannot Successfully Sue for Misdiagnosis Alone
- How Much Money Can Your Claim Actually Recover?
- Who Needs To Be Most Concerned About Misdiagnosis?
- When You Should Contact a Lawyer about Misdiagnosis
How Often Does Misdiagnosis Happen?
Far too often.
795,000 Americans die or are disabled by diagnostic errors each year in the United States alone. From missed cancer diagnoses to undetected strokes to delayed treatment for sepsis — the numbers are staggering.
The situation is even worse for patients transferred to Intensive Care Units…
1 in 4 ICU transfers involved some form of diagnostic error, according to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Misdiagnosis or Misdiagnosis Deserve is the leading cause of medical malpractice claims today. If you were harmed because of a diagnostic error, you deserve justice through the legal system.
The problem is, many harmed patients don’t know that.
What is the Statute of Limitations for Misdiagnosis?
Unfortunately, most harmed patients wait too long before seeking legal counsel.
The misdiagnosis statute of limitations is the deadline to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Wait too long and the opportunity to seek compensation is gone forever.
In California patients have:
- One year to file a lawsuit from the date of discovery of the misdiagnosis, AND
- Three years from the date the malpractice occurred
Patients must file their lawsuit by whichever deadline comes first.
This is why misdiagnosis attorneys can help patients file before the statute of limitations runs out. With so few exceptions, waiting too long to file a lawsuit could mean losing the opportunity to recover compensation entirely.
Yes, there are exceptions to every deadline. Fraud or intentional concealment of wrongdoing by a provider can pause or eliminate the deadline Misdiagnosis Deserve. Children under the age of 6 have until their 8th birthday to file a claim.
But should anyone bank on being one of them? Medical malpractice attorneys can ensure a case is filed on time and the opportunity for recovery doesn’t disappear.
Act now. Don’t wait for the misdiagnosis statute of limitations to run out.
Patients Cannot Successfully Sue for Misdiagnosis Alone
Litigating medical malpractice is hard.
So hard that most harmed patients should never try to do it alone. Physicians and hospitals are some of the largest corporations in the U.S. They have teams of attorneys working day and night to avoid paying compensation to patients they harmed Misdiagnosis Deserve.
To prove a misdiagnosis claim, a patient must demonstrate that:
- There was an established doctor-patient relationship
- The physician breached the “standard of care”
- Real damages were suffered as a direct result
“Standard of care” basically means what a competent doctor would have done under similar circumstances. Battling what “should have” happened with expert witnesses, medical records, and a nuanced understanding of personal injury law is no easy task Misdiagnosis Deserve.
Without aggressive legal representation, the healthcare provider’s insurance company will throw every defense available at the claims.
They will:
- Attack medical records
- Dispute damages
- Combat every opportunity to settle favorably
Nobody should have to face Goliath alone.
How Much Money Can a Successful Claim Recover?
A misdiagnosis claim that succeeds can recover:
- Medical expenses — current and future costs of treatment
- Lost wages — for time missed from work during recovery and illness
- Future earning capacity — if permanent damage occurs
- Pain and suffering — compensation for physical and emotional distress
- Wrongful death damages — if a loved one died because of the misdiagnosis
California law places limits on pain and suffering damages for patients who prevail in their claims. However, plaintiffs can recover the full amount of economic damages their family has suffered. Those include:
- Medical bills
- Lost income
- Repairing or modifying a home to accommodate a disability
Expert legal representation can help navigate this complex system and recover maximum compensation for a family. Going it alone means giving up countless dollars that families need and deserve.
Who Needs To Be Most Concerned About Misdiagnosis?
Women.
Minorities.
Anyone that gets sick.
Patients that identify as women or as part of a racial minority are between 20-30% more likely to receive a misdiagnosis, according to a study conducted at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Stroke, lung cancer, and sepsis were found to be the three conditions most commonly misdiagnosed.
But patients of all races receive misdiagnoses. At least 1 in 20 American adults experience some form of diagnostic error every year. The offices and hospitals patients visit to seek care are broken.
Diagnostic errors caused by:
- Poor physician staffing
- Failures to order the right tests
- Missed abnormal results
Make up nearly 70% of all mistakes. If something ever felt wrong about a diagnosis — it could be.
When Should You Contact a Lawyer About Misdiagnosis?
There’s never a perfect time to hire an attorney.
But there is a wrong time. And that’s after the deadline to file a lawsuit has already expired.
The sooner a lawyer is contacted about the situation, the better. Medical records can be obtained. Witnesses can be interviewed. Evidence can be secured.
Patients that suspect they may have been misdiagnosed should:
- Write down a detailed timeline of events
- Start gathering medical records and test results
- Make note of when the misdiagnosis was first discovered
- Contact a qualified misdiagnosis attorney immediately
Take these steps today and there’s no risk of losing the opportunity to recover compensation.
Time to Take Action
Too many families are suffering because of negligence at every level of the healthcare system. Patients that receive the wrong diagnosis and incur financial burdens, lose wages, and experience pain and suffering should fight back. Patients who lose their lives at the hands of medical professionals deserve justice through the legal system.
Patients deserve quality legal representation that will guide them through this complex process and ensure their voices are heard. But there are strict deadlines and survivors shouldn’t wait.
Know the statute of limitations. Know the exceptions. Don’t go it alone.
Learn more about your legal rights today.
If this doesn’t spark an idea, check your pulse. It’s that potent at 2A Magazine.
