Atlanta Misdiagnosis Circumstances
Misdiagnosis in medical malpractice cases occurs when a doctor makes a wrong diagnosis of the patient and that misdiagnosis causes some type of harm or delayed treatment. A misdiagnosis can have devastating consequences. If you or a loved one have suffered from a doctor or medical professional’s misdiagnosis, you may be entitled to compensation. A compassionate lawyer will go the extra mile to ensure that you and your family are able to find comfort following a misdiagnosis. Atlanta misdiagnosis circumstances can be complex, which is why you could benefit from having an attorney by your side. Also, a well-established lawyer is going to have an in-house doctor who can provide medical insight to your injury case.
Misdiagnosis as an Acceptable Mistake
When it comes to misdiagnosis cases, it is important to know that doctors are not perfect. Sometimes in Atlanta misdiagnosis circumstances, the doctor may have made a mistake that was not his or her fault. The key to a malpractice claim is whether the doctor was negligent in the process of diagnosing the patient. For example, a doctor could misdiagnose an individual based on a faulty lab report or equipment malfunction that is not the doctor’s fault. The liability would then be placed on the manufacturer of the equipment or whoever messed up the lab report.
Common Forms of Misdiagnosis
There could be many issues in the process of diagnosing an injury or illness, especially when it comes to cancer cases. Often, infections are not diagnosed, as are issues that could indicate a heart attack. Also, there is a condition called aortic dissection which is a tear in the wall of someone’s aorta, which is the most important artery in the body. It is common for an aortic dissection condition to go undiagnosed.
Dangerous Conditions of Misdiagnoses
The most dangerous conditions to misdiagnose and mistreat are related to the heart. If someone has something going on with their heart that is misdiagnosed, that could quickly lead to catastrophic results. Many times, an individual goes to see the doctor with symptoms of a heart attack that are misdiagnosed and the person dies not too long after. Sometimes conditions are misdiagnosed over a longer period of time. This leads to a lost chance for the person to get the treatment he or she needs and possibly increase his or her lifespan.
Patients have the right and should not ever hesitate to ask for more thorough testing or ask for lab tests to make sure nothing is wrong. If someone has concerns, he or she can also get a second opinion from another doctor who specializes in that same area to verify whether another treatment might be beneficial or the original diagnosis was incorrect.
Benefits of an Attorney
When a person contacts an attorney, the lawyer is going to ask about the symptoms and what made the patient want to go see a doctor. The lawyer wants to know what was going on with the person that made them concerned enough to seek treatment from a doctor. The attorney will then ask the person what they told his or her doctor, what the doctor did, what tests the doctor ran, and whether the doctor performed a physical examination. A lawyer will inquire about the doctor’s diagnosis, the kind of treatment, and how did it work.
Once the attorney hears the story from the patient in terms of the who, what, when, and where of what happened, he or she obtains the medical records to get the doctor’s version of the situation. The records contain the findings of the physical examination, the lab and test results, and the treatment plan. This is going to allow the lawyer to see if this is a misdiagnosis case. Atlanta misdiagnosis circumstances are serious, which is why if you believe you have been misdiagnosed, contact a seasoned lawyer immediately to schedule a free case review.
