Failure To Diagnose Attorney Baton Rouge
Doctors and healthcare providers work under the expectation we rely on them to protect our health. After many years of education to earn their medical degree, doctors are expected to be capable of making correct diagnoses. Misdiagnosing an injury, condition, or disease can lead to severe consequences. If this describes your situation, you may be entitled to seek compensation for the losses you have suffered.
When a doctor or healthcare provider is attempting to diagnose your condition, they have a duty to acquire a medical history, recognize symptoms, order necessary tests, and follow accepted standards of care. However, they are not required to be correct when diagnosing someone. Sometimes, they can do everything correctly and fail to diagnose your illness.
At Murray & Murray, L.L.C., our Baton Rouge personal injury lawyers help you determine if your doctor has done everything to properly diagnose your injuries or illness. Contact us immediately if you think you were the victim of medical malpractice due to your doctor’s failure to diagnose your medical condition.
Is Missing a Diagnosis Malpractice in Baton Rouge?
Most medical malpractice lawsuits stem from delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of a condition, injury, or illness. If a doctor’s failure to diagnose leads to incorrect, delayed, or no treatment at all, as a patient, your condition may become worse or lead to wrongful death. Louisiana law does not hold doctors and healthcare providers responsible for all diagnostic errors. Instead, you must prove three essential things to reach a favorable outcome in a medical malpractice lawsuit. These are:
- There existed a doctor-patient relationship
- Your doctor was negligent (they failed to competently provide treatment)
- Your doctor’s negligent actions have caused injuries
For knowledgeable and caring legal representation, please contact our Baton Rouge failure to diagnose lawyers at (225) 925 1110 to schedule your free case evaluation.
Proving Medical Malpractice Based on Failure to Diagnose
At Murray & Murray, L.L.C., our medical malpractice attorneys understand a delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis is not evidence of negligent behavior. Most skillful doctors make diagnostic errors even when they are using reasonable care. For a medical malpractice claim, you must determine whether the doctor acted competently. This involves evaluating what your healthcare provider did and did not do when choosing a diagnosis. A standard method is to analyze the differential diagnosis list the doctor has used in making treatment decisions.
A doctor makes a list of diagnoses by probability based on a preliminary evaluation. They then test the strength of every diagnosis by asking you detailed questions about your symptoms and medical history. The doctor may also order tests and refer you to specialists. Ideally, many diagnoses will be ruled out as the medical investigation progresses, with only a single diagnosis remaining at the end. However, this is not always the case.
In a claim based on failure to diagnose, you and your personal injury attorney must prove another doctor in a similar specialty would not have misdiagnosed your condition or illness under the same circumstances.
Medical Malpractice Claims in Louisiana
While you have just one year to file your claim, like other personal injury claims, there are some additional factors you must consider. There are various ways in which a medical malpractice claim differs from other personal injury claims. Most importantly, Louisiana limits the total compensation you can recover in a medical malpractice lawsuit to $500,000. This makes it essential to ensure your damages are accounted for and factored into your injury settlement.
Separately, medical malpractice claims are more challenging and complicated to prove. As your Baton Rouge medical malpractice attorneys, we may have to procure expert witness testimony to confirm and attest to what went wrong, and what your doctor should have done instead. This is a critical point of how our law firm’s network of professional contacts will work fully to your advantage.
While the potential value of your injury claim is capped by Louisiana law in most ways, a complete assessment of your claim must be performed to maximize the potential settlement. You may hit the maximum compensation allowed. All your economic and non-economic damages will be reviewed and included in your demand.
Some damages factored into your claim include medical expenses, emotional and physical therapy, lost income, emotional distress, transportation and caregiver expenses, lost enjoyment of life, or permanent disfigurement. Our Baton Rouge personal injury lawyers will walk you through the entire process, ensuring everything is included in your claim.
Why Contact a Failure to Diagnose Attorney Baton Rouge?
When doctors or healthcare providers make mistakes, they can act fast to cover their tracks. Moreover, they might try to convince you that you do not need a lawyer because they may complicate things. It is only for the hospital’s benefit to not engage the legal services of a personal injury attorney to protect your rights.
However, it is critical to understand that a missed diagnosis can bring severe life consequences or even death. Misdiagnosis when you are suffering from an illness or medical condition can allow the disease to worsen over time. The Baton Rouge medical malpractice attorneys at our law firm are ready to fight back against doctors, hospitals, and their attorneys to maximize your financial compensation. In addition to protecting you and your family, we want to ensure payment will cover the cost of every consequence of your misdiagnosis.
We understand you could have several questions about a failure to diagnose claim, so we are prepared to arm you with all information you need to pursue the financial compensation you lawfully deserve. Schedule a free consultation for your misdiagnosis case and take the first step in seeking justice.