The Standard of Care for an Atlanta Misdiagnosis Case
When a medical professional mistakes symptoms and causes damage by deviating from the standard of care, an Atlanta misdiagnosis case is often the result. For victims of these errors by a medical professional, the options for a full recovery are few. However, the law provides a route for you to recover compensation that could help you on your path of recovery. To learn more about how a lawyer could help you hold negligent parties accountable, reach out to an attorney today.
Initial Question When Meeting with a Lawyer
The questions that an Atlanta attorney should ask during an initial consultation with a victim of a misdiagnosis are what the patient’s symptoms were that led to the doctor’s diagnosis and how long he or she had been experiencing those symptoms. An attorney should inquire after the number of visits the patient had with the doctor regarding the symptoms, the doctor’s statements, any testing or examinations the doctor conducted, and whether or not the patient followed the doctor’s instructions regarding next steps after the diagnosis. In order to obtain a solid understanding of whether or not a patient has a viable misdiagnosis case, an attorney should thoroughly discuss the patient’s entire medical situation.
What a Lawyer Must Prove
As with all malpractice cases, an Atlanta lawyer must prove in a misdiagnosis case that the doctor failed to do something or did do something that led to the misdiagnosis. There must have been a departure from acceptable standards of care and a degree of negligence leading to the misdiagnosis, and that failure was not from the doctor exercising reasonable care and skill.
The Standard of Care Explained
The standard of care is the duty a physician must exercise the skill and care that, under normal or similar circumstances, is employed by the medical profession generally. If a doctor is not performing thorough patient histories and physical exams or not following testing protocols, those could be failures to meet the standard of care and could be the basis for a medical malpractice claim.
A doctor must violate the standard of care in order for there to be a valid misdiagnosis case. The medical professional must have made an error or failed to do adequate work or follow up, and because of that deviation from the standard of care, a misdiagnosis was made. If the doctor at all times comports with the standard of care, conducts a thorough work-up, and orders all the right tests but somehow still issues a misdiagnosis, it might not be a malpractice case. Suspected victims of an Atlanta misdiagnosis case need to consider working with a law firm that has an in-house doctor at its disposal and who could validate suspicions of malpractice.
Three Elements of Malpractice
To be a viable medical malpractice case, a misdiagnosis must have three elements: a breach of standard of care, damages or an injury, and causation, which is evidence that the breach of the standard of care caused the injury to the patient. A misdiagnosis claim must have all three elements. Even if a patient is misdiagnosed and the doctor violated the standard of care, if the misdiagnosis did not cause the patient further injury, he or she might not have a viable claim.
Learn More About the Standard of Care for Atlanta Misdiagnoses Cases from a Lawyer
When a victim’s lawyer seeks to establish a case against a medical provider, he or she must establish that there was a breach in the standard of care. In Atlanta misdiagnosis cases, victims need to be aware that even if there was a deviation, there also needs to be sustained injury because of that deviation. To learn more about what is required for a valid claim, reach out to speak directly to an attorney who takes calls after hours and for your free case review.
