Attorney Referrals

Medical Misdiagnosis Lawyers

medical misdiagnosis lawyers

Receiving an accurate diagnosis for a medical condition can change or even save your life. However, when doctors fail to recognize symptoms associated with a medical condition, they can harm your health and put your recovery at risk. If a medical professional’s negligent misdiagnosis of your condition caused you harm, you need our Michigan medical misdiagnosis lawyers on your side.

If you believe that you or a loved one has suffered due to the failure of a physician or other medical professional to correctly diagnose your condition, contact Lipton Law for help. Our Southfield medical malpractice attorneys will review your medical records thoroughly to determine whether you have a strong negligence claim. We have the legal and financial resources to challenge negligent healthcare providers in court.

We also have nurses on staff at our law firm who aid us in evaluating and litigating medical malpractice claims. To schedule your free consultation with a medical misdiagnosis attorney at Lipton Law, please contact our office at 248-557-1688 today.

What Is Medical Misdiagnosis?

A medical misdiagnosis is one of several types of medical malpractice claims. When medical professionals commit diagnostic errors and give the wrong diagnosis to patients, this can be considered a medical misdiagnosis. Although not every missed or delayed diagnosis case is considered medical malpractice, many of them are. Failing to properly diagnose certain conditions could lead to medical misdiagnosis claims if the patient suffers an injury or a worsening of their original condition as a result.

In order to have a valid medical malpractice claim for a missed diagnosis, you must be able to prove the following four elements.

  • A doctor-patient relationship existed in which the doctor owed you a certain standard of medical care.
  • The doctor breached that standard of medical care by making medical mistakes during diagnostic tests that led to the wrong diagnosis.
  • That breach caused your personal injury or the worsening of your condition.
  • You suffered actual monetary damages as a result of the breach.

Is Misdiagnosis Considered Medical Negligence?

In some cases, yes. However, not every delayed diagnosis or incorrect diagnosis will lead to a valid medical misdiagnosis claim. Even very skilled, careful doctors can make mistakes when trying to uphold the appropriate standard of care. This is where the help of medical experts comes in handy. In order to determine whether the doctor upheld the standard of care during their diagnostic process, we will consult with medical experts with similar credentials in the same field as the doctor who misdiagnosed you.

Consulting with medical experts allows us to understand what a competent doctor would do in your situation. If your doctor failed to uphold the correct standards, this may lead to a misdiagnosis lawsuit. At Lipton Law, we have extensive experience handling a wide variety of medical misdiagnosis cases. We will evaluate the facts and circumstances surrounding your case, consult with medical experts, and gather evidence to support your claim. This way, we can build a stronger case for you.

Commonly Misdiagnosed Conditions

medical misdiagnosis lawyers

Due to the nature of certain conditions, medical misdiagnoses are more likely to happen when a doctor tries to evaluate them. According to the AARP, the following are some of the conditions that are most commonly misdiagnosed by negligent doctors.

  • Breast cancer
  • Lyme disease
  • Heart attack
  • Stroke
  • Infections such as sepsis
  • Lung cancer
  • Colorectal cancer
  • Prostate cancer
  • Bladder cancer
  • Brain hemorrhage
  • Pulmonary embolism

Medical malpractice victims deserve compensation for the injuries or complications that they suffered from a misdiagnosis. Additionally, in cases where the patient’s death occurs from a medical mistake, their family members deserve compensation for their losses.

What Causes Misdiagnosis?

Why exactly do medical professional misdiagnoses occur? Very serious diseases and medical conditions can be misdiagnosed due to the following factors.

  • Misinterpretation of symptoms
  • Misinterpretation of test results appearing on X-rays, sonograms or mammograms
  • Failure to take a patient’s concerns seriously
  • Lacking experience or being overly confident
  • Physician fails to order the correct tests
  • Not spending enough time with patients
  • Failing to follow up with patients
  • Abnormal test results
  • Failing to recognize the obvious signs of certain conditions
  • Miscommunication or lack of communication between different medical professionals

When a misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose occurs, it can have a permanent effect on you and your loved ones. Your recovery options may be severely limited if cancer or another disease has significantly advanced since your initial diagnosis. You deserve justice for the pain and suffering you’ve endured from this mistake.

How to Prevent Medical Misdiagnosis

If you have dealt with misdiagnosis in the past, or if you’re looking to avoid it, there are a few steps you can take to reduce your chances of being misdiagnosed.

  • If any questions come to mind, always ask. No matter how small or seemingly insignificant you may think a question is, it could help your doctor to better understand your condition and come to the correct diagnosis.
  • Always report all of your symptoms. Failing to notify a doctor of even one important symptom could be the difference between the correct diagnosis and misdiagnosis.
  • Stay involved in your care and treatment. Always follow up with your doctor on tests and results. Also, make sure they receive a full picture of your family’s medical history. This history could prompt them to order tests they may not otherwise order.
  • It’s never a bad idea to get a second opinion. If you want to feel more secure about your diagnosis, or if you suspect the first one was incorrect, you can always seek out a second opinion from a physician in the same field.

Lastly, remember that even if you do all of the above, that doesn’t mean misdiagnosis can’t happen. Oftentimes, misdiagnosis occurs as a result of medical negligence, not because of a mistake the patient made. To determine whether or not you have a valid malpractice claim, schedule a free consultation with a qualified medical malpractice lawyer.

What Should I Do if I Have Been Misdiagnosed?

medical misdiagnosis lawyers

After visiting your doctor, you may notice that your symptoms have worsened rather than improved. Seek medical attention as soon as possible for your new or worsening symptoms. If you are a victim of one of the many types of medical misdiagnosis, we strongly recommend speaking with our malpractice attorneys as soon as possible.

We also recommend that you mitigate your damages as much as possible. Follow your doctor’s orders unless your condition worsens, and seek medical attention if it does. Do not purposefully allow your health to worsen. Both your actions and your doctor’s actions will be taken into consideration in these cases. Failing to take all necessary steps to mitigate your damages may result in the defendant accusing you of committing fraud.

Proving Misdiagnosis and Medical Negligence

Medical malpractice lawsuits are notoriously complicated, and they require the knowledge and skill of an experienced attorney. If a missed or delayed diagnosis occurs and you suffer damages as a result, you will need strong evidence for a successful claim. As we mentioned previously, your attorney will likely seek the opinion of a medical expert in the same specialty or in a similar specialty as your original doctor. This will allow us to show what another doctor would have done, as well as to demonstrate how your doctor deviated from the standard of care. Your attorney will help you understand how to prove a misdiagnosis. We will also help you gather the following types of evidence.

  • Diagnostic test results
  • Medical records
  • Medical bills
  • Records from emergency rooms
  • Prescription medication records
  • Hospital records

There are many other forms of evidence that could be crucial for your case. Schedule a free case evaluation with one of our malpractice lawyers to see if you have a claim without taking on legal fees on top of your medical expenses.

Seeking Compensation After a Medical Misdiagnosis

Unfortunately, life-saving treatment for patients with serious conditions is often very expensive, especially if you were misdiagnosed. Seeking financial compensation can help you recover the following losses after suffering from medical malpractice.

  • Lost wages
  • Current and future medical expenses
  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of quality of life
  • Loss of earning capacity

Family members of a deceased patient can also file a wrongful death lawsuit on behalf of their lost loved one. If a doctor fails to diagnose someone’s medical issues quickly enough, wrongful death due to medical malpractice can result. Families of these patients also deserve compensation for their losses and pain.

Our Michigan Medical Misdiagnosis Attorneys Can Help You

Medical malpractice cases involving misdiagnosis and the failure to diagnose can quickly become complicated. Insurance companies know that these claims are expensive to settle fairly, so they use pressure tactics to convince injury victims to accept a low payout.

As your advocate, we will fight for your best interests throughout the legal process. Contact us online or call our Southfield, Michigan, office at 248-557-1688 to get in touch with a medical malpractice attorney who will zealously support your case from day one.