When you experience symptoms of an illness, you go to your doctor for a diagnosis. You want to know what is wrong with you and how to treat the condition. We trust medical professionals to provide a specific standard of care.
Unfortunately, doctors make mistakes. They may act negligently. When a doctor’s negligence harms the patient, the doctor may be liable under Florida’s medical malpractice laws.
Our Fort Lauderdale, FL medical malpractice lawyers at Hollander Law Firm Accident Injury Lawyers have over 28 years of experience handling complex injury claims. We fight to get you the compensation you deserve for delayed diagnosis and failure to diagnose claims.
Contact our law firm or give us a call at (954) 287-0566 to discuss your case with one of our Fort Lauderdale failure to diagnose lawyers during a free consultation.
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How Our Fort Lauderdale Medical Malpractice Lawyers Help You With a Failure to Diagnose Condition Claim
A doctor’s failure to diagnose a medical condition can lead to severe injuries and wrongful death. Our personal injury lawyers in Fort Lauderdale, FL believe that negligent physicians should be held accountable for the injuries and damages caused by their actions.
Therefore, we utilize our extensive resources and skills gained from handling medical malpractice cases for nearly three decades to obtain top injury awards for our clients.
When you hire our legal team in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, you can expect us to:
- Investigate your claim to determine if medical negligence or intentional acts caused your injuries
- Work with medical experts to determine the extent of your injuries and damages
- Identify all parties responsible for your damages
- File insurance claims and handle all matters related to settling those claims
- Document your damages and calculate the value of your claim
- Aggressively pursue claims and lawsuits to protect your right to total compensation for all damages
If you have questions about medical malpractice cases in Broward County, contact our Fort Lauderdale medical malpractice lawyer for a free case evaluation. We represent clients in all counties in South Florida.
Common Causes of Failure to Diagnose Conditions
Diagnostic errors are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice in the United States. A study by John Hopkins Medicine found diagnostic errors caused more harm than treatment mistakes.
Failure to diagnose a condition includes delayed diagnosis and misdiagnosis. When a doctor fails to diagnose a condition correctly, the patient could suffer irreparable harm.
Common reasons why a doctor fails to diagnose a condition include:
- The doctor failed to listen to the patient’s concerns and symptoms
- Failing to order timely diagnostic tests or the correct diagnostic tests
- Misinterpreting lab results and diagnostic tests
- Failing to refer patients to specialists or consult a specialist
- Communication errors between health care providers
- Treating patients and practicing medicine under the influence of alcohol or drugs
- Failure to complete a differential diagnosis list when a patient presents symptoms that could indicate more than one diagnosis
If you suspect your doctor failed to diagnose a medical condition, seek another medical opinion immediately. Talk with our Fort Lauderdale failure to diagnose attorneys about your legal options as soon as possible.
Consequences of Failing to Diagnose a Medical Condition
The potential consequences of a doctor’s negligence could be deadly. Patients may suffer various injuries and harm because a doctor failed to diagnose an illness or condition correctly.
Possible consequences include:
- The patient does not receive the correct treatment for their illness or condition
- The condition worsens
- The patient receives treatment that was unnecessary and ineffective
- The delay in treatment lowers the chance of survival
- The patient sustains a permanent impairment or disability
- The patient requires surgical amputation of limbs
- Loss of bodily functions and damage to internal organs
The damages caused by a failure to diagnose include pain and suffering (non-economic damages) and monetary losses (economic damages). Our legal team pursues a medical malpractice claim to recover compensation for these damages.
Who Can I Sue for Failing to Diagnose My Medical Condition?
The doctor who failed to diagnose your condition can be held liable for your damages. However, other parties may share liability for damages.
Defendants may include:
- Hospitals
- Medical facilities
- Nurse
- Laboratories
- Diagnostic technicians
Our legal team searches for each party that could be responsible for your injuries. By naming each party, we increase the chance you receive maximum compensation for your damages.
How Long Do I Have to File a Failure to Diagnose Claim in Florida?
Medical malpractice cases generally have a two-year deadline to file lawsuits under Florida’s statute of limitations. The two years begin on the date you discovered or should have reasonably known about the malpractice.
However, there is a four-year deadline from the date of the incident to file lawsuits. That clock starts at the date of the incident when the malpractice occurred. So, if you discovered that a doctor failed to diagnose your condition three years after an exam, you’d only have one year to file a claim.
There are some exceptions to statutes of limitations. It is best to speak with a lawyer as soon as you suspect your injuries could be the result of medical negligence or malpractice.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Fort Lauderdale, FL Medical Malpractice Attorneys
The sooner you seek legal advice regarding a medical malpractice claim, the better your chance of winning your case. Contact our law office today to schedule your free case review with one of our Fort Lauderdale failure to diagnose lawyers.
