A Misdiagnosis or Failure To Diagnose Can Prevent the Patient From Receiving the Right Treatment or Delay Prompt Attention, with Serious Health Repercussions
When you go to a medical practitioner for a regular check-up, to help you diagnose symptoms causing you trouble, or for a medical procedure, you expect that their team will take full care of you. In most cases, this happens. New Jersey medical practitioners, including surgeons, doctors, nurses, and physician’s assistants, undergo years of training to help prepare them to properly provide timely support for your medical needs. Rarely, however, a medical practitioner will fail to spot a dangerous condition, leading to delayed diagnosis and treatment. Such an error can have devastating consequences for your prognosis, for in many diseases, including cancer, early diagnosis is key for optimal treatment. If you are suffering from the life-changing consequences of a medical practitioner’s failure to correctly diagnose your medical condition, you have the right to recover damages for economic and non-economic expenses resulting from the missed diagnosis.
Our medical malpractice legal team at Cohen & Riechelson has helped a multitude of people in New Jersey and Pennsylvania recover their medical and financial future as best as possible after such a devastating mistake. Contact us today for a free consultation to discuss your case, and read on to learn more about the dangerous medical malpractice of missing a diagnosis or failing to diagnose.
Impact of Misdiagnosis or Failure to Diagnose in NJ
A missed diagnosis, or failure to diagnose, occurs when a medical practitioner does not diagnose a patient’s condition in any way. Such an error can occur due to a number of factors, including the litigable ones of negligence or incompetence.
Failure to Diagnose Malpractice by the Numbers
Fortunately, failure to diagnose malpractice in New Jersey is relatively rare, as medical practitioners follow strict procedural policies to ensure that they do all that is necessary to diagnose a present condition. However, a 2022 report by the Department of Health and Human Services found that over 7 million people who enter the emergency room in the United States every year receive an incorrect diagnosis.
Common Misdiagnosed Conditions
The AARP reports that some of the most common conditions that go undiagnosed are cancers, including colorectal, breast, bladder, prostate, and lung cancers. Additionally, heart attacks, strokes, and sepsis are included in the list of most undiagnosed conditions.
Potential Consequences of Missed or Undiagnosed Errors
Missing a diagnosis can have life-altering and devastating consequences. At best, a missed diagnosis leads to delayed diagnosis and, therefore, treatment. In some cases, a condition that is missed by a medical practitioner continues to develop to a degree beyond treatment, causing life-long debilitation or, in some cases, death.
Know Your Compensation Rights for a Missed Diagnosis in New Jersey
If your medical practitioner failed to diagnose your condition due to negligence, incompetence, or incorrectly conducted procedures, you have the right to seek compensation for the economic and noneconomic damages caused. This includes medical expenses, even those progressing into the future. Additionally, it includes lost wages and disability benefits, and related out-of-pocket expenses. Finally, it even includes non-economic damages like pain and suffering, loss of quality of life, and other psychological and emotional damages caused.
Legal Alternatives After a Failure to Diagnose Scenario
After you find out that a medical practitioner has missed a diagnosis, the first step is to get alternate medical support right away. Once you are on the path to the containment of the condition and recovery, contact a medical malpractice attorney right away. A skilled lawyer will guide you through the process of gathering the documentation needed for your malpractice claim.
A Hamilton NJ Medical Malpractice Lawyer Can Help You Safeguard Your Health and Seek Compensation After Complications Due to a Missed Diagnosis
An experienced medical malpractice attorney is central to winning a malpractice lawsuit because one key element that must be proven in a case is practitioner negligence. While you focus on your treatment and recovery, your legal team will help you gather necessary information and evidence regarding the malpractice, as well as documentation and receipts from ongoing medical treatment and lost wages. Importantly, your attorney will act as a middle person, communicating with the practitioner’s insurance company.
Our team at Cohen & Riechelson has decades of experience successfully representing clients in East Windsor, Hamilton, Princeton, Hopewell, Hightstown, Lambertville, Robbinsville, and other New Jersey locations whose futures have been adversely affected by a missed diagnosis, helping them recover full financial damages for the effects of that practitioner negligence. Contact us today at (609) 528-2596 or access our online contact form to get started with your claim immediately. Together, we’ll be part of the team getting you on the road to recovery.
