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Murrieta Diagnosis Error Attorneys

Patients rely on doctors to provide an accurate diagnosis of their condition. When doctors make a diagnostic error, it can result in serious harm.

A diagnostic error can happen in a number of ways. While the circumstances surrounding a diagnosis error may differ, they all have one thing in common. Patients who are the victims of these mistakes will suffer many injuries, including a condition that progresses very quickly, or even wrongful death if a condition is never properly diagnosed. According to the AARP, up to 20% of serious medical conditions are initially misdiagnosed by healthcare professionals. When a doctor does not properly diagnose a medical condition, it is a type of medical malpractice. Injured patients can hold the doctor liable for paying any damages they sustain as a result.

Types of Diagnosis Errors

When patients visit a medical professional, they hope to receive the proper treatment for their illness or injury. To receive that treatment, medical professionals must diagnose them appropriately so the condition can be corrected. Unfortunately, diagnostic errors sometimes occur and some are more common than others. These include:

  • Delayed diagnosis: Sometimes, a medical professional will correctly diagnose a condition, but the accurate diagnosis comes too late.
  • Failure to diagnose a related disease: A medical professional may diagnose one illness the patient suffers from but overlook another. For example, a doctor may diagnose a patient with high blood pressure but fail to recognize the patient is also suffering from diabetes.
  • Failure to diagnose an unrelated disease: Doctors are responsible for a patient’s overall health. When they diagnose one condition but do not diagnose another unrelated condition, it is still a type of medical malpractice. For example, a doctor may diagnose a patient with pneumonia but may not notice the patient is also suffering from cancer.
  • Missed diagnosis: In some cases, a doctor may state that a patient has a clean bill of health when really, the patient is suffering from an illness.
  • Wrong diagnosis: A doctor may diagnose a patient with one disease when they do not suffer from it. This causes a number of problems because the condition the patient suffers from will become worse, and they may also take unnecessary medication to treat a condition they do not have.

While these are just some of the most common diagnostic errors a doctor may make, there are unfortunately many others, as well.

Damages Available After a Diagnostic Error

Patients become seriously injured after a diagnostic error, and they have the right to file a claim for any losses they sustained as a result. The most common damages available in these claims are as follows:

  • Medical costs, including emergency medical care and physical therapy
  • Psychological counseling
  • Lost wages
  • Diminished earning power
  • Pain and suffering
  • Mental distress
  • Scarring
  • Permanent impairments

When a patient does not survive a diagnosis error, surviving loved ones can also file a wrongful death claim to recover damages such as burial and funeral costs.

Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers in Murrieta Can Advise on Your Case

If you or someone you love has been injured as a result of a diagnostic error, our Murrieta medical malpractice lawyers at Gibbs & Fuerst, LLP, can assist with your case. Call us today at 951-816-3435 or fill out our online form to schedule a free consultation.