Medical Malpractice: Failure to Diagnose

When a person visits a doctor, he or she enters with certain assumptions regarding the level of service and care that will be offered. Most people assume that their doctor will attentively examine their problem, assess the situation, and either make a diagnosis or provide a referral to a specialist who will be able to diagnose the problem.

Unfortunately, in many cases this scenario is not accurate. Far too often, doctors who are unable to diagnose a patient fail to refer them to a specialist who may provide an answer to the problem at hand. In these instances, the patient's condition continues to worsen while his or her primary physician fails to accurately diagnose the problem.

If you have experienced a situation similar to this, you may be in a position to receive compensation in a "failure to diagnose" lawsuit.

The Dangers of "Failure to Diagnose"

When a medical condition goes undiagnosed, and as such, untreated, the underlying medical condition continues to worsen. Depending on the amount of time it takes for the problem to be identified, the medical condition could potentially reach the point that it is no longer treatable, or is not treatable without extreme measures.

This becomes especially dangerous when the medical condition is time-sensitive in nature. An example of this can be found in the case of cancer. When an individual with cancer is not diagnosed, or is not diagnosed in a reasonable time frame, the cancer continues to spread and worsen. By the time it is discovered, it is possible that it may have reached a point that it is no longer treatable, or is only treatable through invasive surgery and intense radiation treatment.

Contact

Doctors who fail to diagnose patients must be held responsible for their mistakes. If you or someone you know has suffered from a doctor's failure to diagnose, contact Cincinnati medical malpractice lawyer Shawn M. Stepleton today at 513-321-7733 to discuss your legal rights and options.