In most cases, doctors are successful in treating their patients correctly. A medical malpractice lawsuit can only be successful if you prove you were harmed due to the misdiagnosis in a doctor-patient relationship. To file a lawsuit against your doctor for medical malpractice, you should meet two conditions:.
Before you file a lawsuit against a doctor, you should know if you even have a case or not based on your legal standing based on law , the harm you endured, and if the evidence substantiates the claim. Here are some essential things to know about bringing a claim or suit against a facility or medical professional to prove it was negligent. The statute of limitations for medical malpractice and wrongful diagnosis is two years from the date of injury in Illinois and many other states.
Thus, you need to file a medical malpractice claim within two years of the date of tests and treatments for your illness. However, the statute of limitation could differ from one state to another and may be extended in certain circumstances. Typically, individuals injured by medical malpractice must wait for at least six months to a year from the date of the medical procedure. Six months is typically how long it takes for the symptoms of misdiagnosis to appear.
If it is a severe misdiagnosis, you should act quickly and discuss your situation with an attorney to identify your legal opportunities. Yes, you can file a lawsuit against your doctor for not mentioning this possible risk because they breached their duty to inform the patient about any risks involved in treatment. However, if there was no way they could have known that there would be a complication, you likely do not have cause for taking legal action.
Common Conditions that are Misdiagnosed There are as many possible scenarios for misdiagnosis as there are combinations of health and injury or illness. These conditions include: Asthma — Often misdiagnosed as recurring bronchitis. Heart Attack — Often misdiagnosed as a panic attack, indigestion, or esophageal conditions. Staph Infection — Often misdiagnosed as the flu. Stroke — Commonly dismissed as being a migraine, especially in young patients. Cancer — Misdiagnosis can result in many painful and lengthy procedures that are not necessary.
Can I Sue a Doctor for Misdiagnosis? To make this determination, you will need to do the following: Establish that Medical Negligence Occurred — Medical negligence occurs when a healthcare provider violates the medical standard of care, or the professionally-accepted method for diagnosing or treating a specific condition.
The standard of care may vary depending on factors individual to each patient, such as age, geographic location, overall health, and the specific condition. Establish Causation — Establishing causation means proving that the healthcare providers negligence caused you harm.
This is a more difficult element to prove, and often requires the aid of expert witnesses. When is Misdiagnosis Medical Malpractice? Learn more about proving a medical malpractice case based on misdiagnosis. Finally, in any medical malpractice case—in any type of lawsuit for that matter—plaintiffs need to be mindful of time limits for going to court and getting the lawsuit process started.
You need to file the initial document the complaint within a certain amount of time after you suffered the harm that led to the lawsuit. These deadlines are set by state laws statutes , so they're called " statutes of limitations. For example, in California, a patient has three years to file a medical malpractice lawsuit after the harm occurs, or one year after the harm is discovered, or should have been discovered whichever comes first. Learn more about the statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits.
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Lawyer Directory. Essentially, you must show that the balance of probabilities indicates a breach in duty of care is the reason for your injury. Medical negligence claims can be complex, especially if they involve multiple factors, such as various potential causes of an injury. This is a major reason why reliable, professional legal advice is essential in making a misdiagnosis claim.
Just as medical conditions vary in their nature and severity, so outcomes for misdiagnosis claims can vary considerably. The amount of compensation you can expect to receive for a successful claim will depend on the extent of your injury and losses and any costs towards your recovery or further treatment. Your compensation can include costs to cover long-term adaptations you need to make to your living arrangements, for example.
Because these cases can be complex, they can also take time to resolve, but cases that are not settled out of court can typically take three to four years. But what matters is that you get the compensation you should receive for the misdiagnosis that has caused you injury or suffering.
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