A misdiagnosis sends patients down a dangerous path, one filled with unnecessary treatments and expenses. In addition, as patients deal with the discomfort from their existing medical condition, they now face new side effects and additional bills as a result of the misdiagnosis.
If you or a loved one suffered a misdiagnosis that resulted in significant life changes, consider contacting a Brooklyn misdiagnosis attorney. Your attorney can review your medical records, interview witnesses, and pursue compensation on your behalf.
How a Misdiagnosis Happens
Entrusting a medical professional with your health will help you seek relief from your ailment. Sadly, an estimated 100,000 people in the United States die or become disabled due to a medical misdiagnosis. A misdiagnosis causes a delayed diagnosis for the original medical issue, which can prove dangerous and potentially deadly.
Many factors can contribute to a misdiagnosis, including:
- Failure to order testing
- Misinterpretation of test results
- Too narrow of a diagnosis focus
- Failure to properly evaluate the patient
These constitute just a few examples of how a clinical misjudgment can impact your life. While medical facilities may experience busy times, a medical diagnosis has no room for error.
The Dangers of a Misdiagnosis
Researchers at Johns Hopkins Medicine list three primary categories of common misdiagnosis:
- Vascular events
- Infection
- Cancers
These diagnostic errors result in a medical plan that can affect a patient’s quality of life. Treatments that may result from a misdiagnosis include:
- Expensive medications
- Unnecessary surgeries
- Harmful, rather than helpful, treatments
If you sought medical care only to experience new or worsening symptoms, think about pursuing compensation. A Brooklyn medical professional or facility that fails to properly diagnose a patient must face accountability.
Brooklyn Hospitals
Unfortunately, misdiagnosis errors commonly occur in Brooklyn hospitals and other medical facilities. Brooklyn has a growing population, and those new residents need healthcare, which can sometimes overwhelm doctors and nurses working in Brooklyn and contribute to misdiagnosis errors.
Some of the Brooklyn area hospitals that score only one star (out of five) according to Medicare.gov include:
- SUNY/Downstate University Hospital of Brooklyn
- Kings County Hospital Center
- Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center
- Brookdale Hospital Medical Center
- Interfaith Medical Center
- Wyckoff Heights Medical Center
How a Lawyer Can Help With Your Misdiagnosis
A Brooklyn lawyer can help you by managing the details of your case. A misdiagnosis only compounds your original health problem. Seeking the right solution from another doctor takes time and energy.
Handing your case over to an attorney allows you to seek new care and to rest. In addition, your lawyer likely has experience managing these types of cases and dealing with at-fault doctors and medical centers. You certainly want an attorney with experience winning misdiagnosis cases.
A free case evaluation provides a great start for learning more about how to move forward. Your lawyer must prove negligence for you to successfully recover compensation. To do so, your lawyer may interview witnesses, review records, and examine pictures. As the investigation develops, your lawyer can keep you up to date on the latest information.
A misdiagnosis can prove scary, but pursuing legal action on your own may prove even scarier. The medical industry has powerful insurance companies and lawyers that represent it. Hiring a Brooklyn misdiagnosis lawyer to help you with your case serves as a positive step in the right legal direction.
A Misdiagnosis Disrupts Time
Countless (and ultimately useless) doctor visits for misdiagnosis treatment can cost you precious time. Your underlying, original medical issue may worsen due to lack of care or the impact of unnecessary treatments.
Searching for a doctor to help you with your now multiple medical issues can prove time-consuming. In addition, time away from work can negatively impact your finances at the same time that your medical costs continue to climb.
Your situation leaves you no time to deal with the legal details of your civil case. Therefore, you should consider hiring someone to protect your best interests and provide you with peace of mind.
If time slips by too quickly, you may miss the opportunity to pursue a claim and lawsuit. In addition, state law governs how long a victim of negligence has to pursue legal action. Therefore, failure to adhere to the deadline can prevent you from ever pursuing a lawsuit for your damages.
A lawyer understands New York law and the strict guidelines associated with the statute of limitations. Therefore, you do not need the added stress of managing deadlines as you deal with your misdiagnosis.
Possible Forms of Compensation
Misdiagnosis leads to mounting medical costs for unnecessary tests and procedures. A lawyer can help you fight for the compensation you need to cover the full cost of your injuries.
The compensation may cover the following types of damages:
- Medical expenses relating to the misdiagnosis
- Missed time from work due to various procedures or treatments
- Loss of future earnings if misdiagnosis prevents you from returning to your job
- Pain and suffering due to the mental anguish you experience
A misdiagnosis can impact you physically, emotionally, psychologically, and financially. This disruption to your life is unfair as you struggle with your unresolved medical condition.
Seeking legal help for your civil case can alleviate your stress. A lawyer understands how to firmly negotiate with insurance companies and other lawyers who may represent the medical professionals or facility.
If you find yourself suffering the effects of unnecessary treatment and unable to work, contact a Brooklyn misdiagnosis lawyer without delay.
Fatal Misdiagnosis
The death of a loved one due to a misdiagnosis can devastate you and your family member. After such a huge loss, you likely don’t want to spend your time managing court deadlines and dealing with assertive insurance adjusters.
If you lost a close loved one due to a misdiagnosis, consider contacting a Brooklyn wrongful death attorney today. Protect your case by not speaking with those involved with your loved one’s care.
Pursuing compensation in a wrongful death case typically involves:
- Final medical expenses for your loved one
- Funeral, burial, cremation, or memorial costs
- Loss of income from a spouse or partner
- Loss of potential future earnings had the victim survived
- Loss of companionship
Wrongful death cases generally include economic and non-economic damages. Medical bills represent one example of economic damages, which are easily understood as the costs related to medical care.
Non-economic damages involve things that prove harder to establish a monetary value for—like that of companionship. Losing your loved one’s companionship may constitute an invaluable loss. The right lawyer for your case will understand how to convey the impact before a judge and jury.
Why Insurance Adjusters Pressure You to Accept a Settlement
A medical professional or facility that makes a grave mistake typically wants the situation to go away. The less attention called to the matter, the better and the less money paid in compensation, even better.
Insurance adjusters representing large medical practices or professionals want to either pay nothing or a low sum. As for-profit businesses, insurance companies want to protect their bottom lines and their best interests.
An initial settlement offer may seem like a good deal. However, don’t accept the settlement without having a lawyer review it first. The good deal before you will prevent you from seeking compensation later should you sign it.
Signing a settlement agreement closes your claim. Once you accept, you waive your right to pursue additional compensation down the road should your injuries worsen.
Whether you face a long recovery, a permanent injury, or the loss of a loved one, do not accept less than the full value of your claim. No matter how kind and seemingly helpful the insurance adjuster acts, protect your best interests and consider calling an attorney to review your claim.
Brooklyn Personal Injury and Wrongful Death Lawyer
Civil law differs from criminal law. Lawyers that work in injury law on the plaintiffs’ side do so to protect the rights of accident victims. This type of work brings lawyers varying experiences involving pain, stress, and grief.
The insurance companies have someone by their side, and you should too. This may amount to one of the most stressful times in your life. Your lawyer understands this and will treat you with kindness and care.
If aggressive insurance adjusters call you, refer them to your lawyer. You do not need the pressure of accepting a settlement while you recover. The adjuster likely called to offer a low initial settlement. Protect your best interests by not signing the settlement, and contact a lawyer to help you negotiate further.
Personal injury and wrongful death cases can prove complex and best left to those with a license to practice law. However, if you feel overwhelmed by your situation, consider seeking help from a lawyer.
Most personal injury and wrongful death lawyers offer free case evaluations, leaving you nothing to lose. Should an attorney take your case, you will not owe any legal fees unless and until you successfully recover compensation for your injuries.
Taking Action For Yourself May Help Others
Doctors and other medical professionals see an estimated 50 to 60 patients per day. This steady stream of patients with various ailments requires a dedicated focus on the signs and symptoms of serious illness.
A crowded doctor’s office does not constitute a valid excuse for a misdiagnosis. However, if you suffered physically and financially due to a misdiagnosis, your legal action may prevent the same thing from happening to another patient.
You want to feel confident trusting doctors, nurses, and others when seeking the medical treatment you need when you need it. When this trust becomes broken due to a misdiagnosis, the results can prove devastating for you and your family.
Selecting the right Brooklyn medical facility for your needs should never result in a misdiagnosis. No matter how busy, medical facilities have a responsibility to provide the best care possible for patients.
Do Not Miss Your Chance to Hold Others Accountable
Some victims of a misdiagnosis experience long-term or permanent harm. The drastic changes to their lives can affect their emotional well-being. You should leave the task of conveying the impact of a doctor’s poor judgment to an insurance company, judge, and the jury to a lawyer.
A misdiagnosis lawyer can prepare documents, answer phone calls, handle adjusters, and more. An experienced lawyer’s knowledge and professionalism will help you when dealing with aggressive insurance companies.
If you delay contacting a lawyer, you may miss your chance of ever pursuing compensation. Contacting a Brooklyn lawyer as soon as possible gets your case underway and into the hands of legal experts.
We strive to hold the parties responsible for your harm accountable for their actions. With a lawyer by your side, you can feel confident that he or she will work hard to secure the best outcome possible.
Consider Seeking Help From a Misdiagnosis Lawyer
You shouldn’t just shrug off a serious misdiagnosis, particularly if it caused you to suffer damages. The implications may not appear for quite some time. Never belittle your condition. Doctors and other medical professionals work long hours and with multiple partners for the same patient, but neither amounts to a valid excuse for providing a damaging misdiagnosis.
Brooklyn Medical Malpractice Lawyer, Andrew Finkelstein
Gather your medical reports and documentation of your experience. A list of important information, like that of medications, may help your lawyer. Pictures of the facility conditions, your injuries or illness, and other evidence can contribute to your case. Your lawyer may also want to interview witnesses for your case.
You should take care to keep your case off social media. While we understand that accident victims may feel angry, you should follow the proper claim process to pursue justice rather than turning to social media.
The civil process takes time, and we can’t predict exactly how your case will resolve. If negotiations with an insurance company fail, your lawyer may take your case to trial.
Following an accident, you may just want to feel better. Much of your worry and concern may fall away once you receive a diagnosis. When you fail to get better—or if your condition worsens—you may realize that you’ve received a misdiagnosis.
Give careful thought to getting a free case consultation. You should take incidents of misdiagnosis seriously. Collect your evidence and think about reaching out to a Brooklyn medical malpractice lawyer now.