A timely, accurate diagnosis is the most important aspect of medical care. A patient’s treatment plan and prognosis for recovery depend on the correct and prompt identification of an illness, injury, or medical condition, followed by the appropriate treatment. Unfortunately, misdiagnosis is one of the most common examples of medical malpractice affecting hundreds of thousands of patients each year, including in Chicago.
If you suffered medical malpractice through a misdiagnosed illness, call our Chicago medical malpractice attorneys at Smith LaCien Trial Lawyers, LLP, for experienced legal representation and a free consultation.
The attorneys at Smith LaCien, LLP, are dedicated to advocating for injury victims, including in complex medical malpractice claims against large medical facilities and their powerful insurance companies. By choosing Smith LaCien, you’ll have the following advantages in your medical malpractice claim:
We don’t charge upfront fees to injury victims. Instead, after a free evaluation of your claim, we work at no cost until after we’ve recovered compensation for you in your medical malpractice claim.
A misdiagnosis occurs when a doctor or other medical provider incorrectly identifies a patient’s symptoms as the wrong condition. The most common causes of misdiagnosis include the following:
Misdiagnosis not only fails to treat a patient’s true condition, but it also causes the misdiagnosed patient to undergo treatment for a condition they don’t have, often ending in additional adverse effects as well as the harm caused by the lack of appropriate treatment for their medical condition.
Research from Johns Hopkins Medicine suggests an alarming 100,000 patients suffer permanent disability or death due to misdiagnosis in the U.S. each year. The study identifies the most commonly misdiagnosed medical conditions as follows:
Additional research reveals other commonly misdiagnosed conditions, including sepsis, meningitis, aortic aneurysms, multiple sclerosis, and arterial embolisms.
When a doctor fails to make a timely, accurate medical diagnosis, the results can be serious or even deadly for the patient. Conditions such as cancer and many types of cardiovascular disease are curable or effectively treatable when diagnosed and appropriately treated in the earliest stages. Tragically, a misdiagnosis can lead to adverse medical outcomes, including worsened medical condition, reduced life expectancy, or wrongful death.
A successful claim for misdiagnosis requires evidence demonstrating that the doctor, medical provider, or facility failed to uphold the legal standard of care. Meeting this burden of evidence requires showing the following:
Damages in misdiagnosis cases are often extensive, including financial hardship and other adverse economic impacts, as well as pain and suffering.
When someone else causes you physical and financial harm, you don’t have to be left responsible for the consequences, even when the at-fault party is a doctor or hospital. Common damages recovered in medical malpractice claims include the following:
These are the common damages in medical malpractice cases when a misdiagnosis causes injury. If the misdiagnosis caused a loved one’s wrongful death, a successful claim can recover compensation and a sense of justice for the closest surviving family member. Wrongful death compensation includes compensation for funeral and burial expenses as well as the decedent’s lost income for the remaining working years they would have had remaining to them.
Only when a misdiagnosis causes medical expenses and lost wages does it qualify for a medical malpractice claim. If you suspect that a medical provider misdiagnosed your injury, it’s crucial to do the following:
Avoiding social media and directing all communication with the defendant and their medical malpractice insurance company benefits your misdiagnosis medical malpractice claim.
Proving medical malpractice and seeking the full compensation available for your damages requires experienced legal representation throughout the process of your claim. Call the Chicago personal injury attorneys at Smith LaCien Trial Lawyers, LLP, for prompt action, a strong legal strategy, and a well-executed plan for recovering the maximum compensation available to you.
"*" indicates required fields