Delays in Diagnosis

Typically, when people suffer from concerning symptoms, they will visit doctors to identify the cause of their issues and obtain an appropriate treatment plan. In many instances, a prompt diagnosis is key to a good prognosis. Thus, if a doctor’s carelessness leads to delays in diagnosis, it can adversely affect a patient’s health and well-being, and people harmed by a doctor’s careless delays may be owed damages. If you suffered harm due to delays in obtaining an accurate diagnosis, it is wise to talk to an attorney as soon as possible to determine your rights. The assertive Prince George’s County medical malpractice attorneys of Foran & Foran, P.A., possess the skills and experience needed to prove that doctors who cause their patients to suffer harm should be held accountable. If you hire us, we will advocate tirelessly on your behalf to help you seek a just result.

Delayed diagnoses can be detrimental in a variety of ways. For example, if a patient presents with signs of a heart attack, stroke, or other critical issues, but the patient’s doctor either ignores or does not observe the severity of the patient’s symptoms, it can lead to heart or brain damage or other irreparable harm. Similarly, if a doctor fails to conduct or recommend routine screening tests or does not take heed of a patient’s concerns, cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and other conditions may go undiagnosed for an extended period of time, greatly diminishing the patient’s chance of achieving a favorable result.

Medicine is a science, but the practice of medicine is not always precise, and some conditions and injuries take longer to diagnose than others. However, there are clear differences between determining a diagnosis based on the process of elimination and a clearly unreasonable delay caused by incompetence.

People harmed by a delayed diagnosis will need to establish certain elements to show that the delay constitutes malpractice. Specifically, a plaintiff must demonstrate that a defendant had a duty to provide treatment that complied with the prevailing standard of care, which is the care that a reasonably competent physician working in the same practice area would find acceptable when faced with similar circumstances. The plaintiff must then show that the defendant deviated from the standard. For example, if a prudent doctor would order certain diagnostic tests for a patient complaining of chest pain, and the defendant did not order those tests, it may constitute a breach of the duty owed.

A plaintiff must also show that the defendant’s breach was the legal and actual cause of the harm suffered. In other words, the plaintiff has to produce evidence that establishes that the defendant’s failures were a significant factor in bringing about the plaintiff’s harm and that the injury would not have occurred absent the defendant’s mistakes. Causation is often a strongly contested issue in medical malpractice cases, especially those involving a delayed diagnosis. Therefore, a plaintiff will usually have to hire an expert to testify regarding the applicable standard of care and to link the defendant’s acts to the plaintiff’s harm.

Obtaining a prompt diagnosis is a critical component of appropriate care, and delays in diagnosis cause many people to suffer preventable harm. If you suffered losses due to an untimely diagnosis, you have the right to seek compensation from your doctor and should speak to a lawyer. The dedicated Prince George’s County medical malpractice attorneys of Foran & Foran, P.A., take pride in protecting the interests of people injured by negligent doctors, and if you hire us, we will work tirelessly to help you seek the best outcome available under the facts of your case. We have an office in Greenbelt, Maryland, and we routinely represent parties who live in Hyattsville, Bowie, Upper Marlboro, Waldorf, La Plata, Silver Spring, Rockville, and other cities in Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, Charles County, and all counties in the State of Maryland in medical malpractice cases. You can arrange a confidential and free meeting by contacting us through our form online or by calling us at (301) 441-2022.