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(516) 394-4200
Delayed treatment of some medical conditions can lead to unneeded negative outcomes. Sometimes, medical professionals delay treatment, waiting to confirm a diagnosis. Other times, the delay is due to negligence. If you are suffering because of a doctor’s negligence, contact a Suffolk County delayed diagnosis lawyer for help pursuing compensation. A failure to diagnose attorney from Duffy & Duffy is ready to prepare your lawsuit.
Medical diagnoses are not easy. Doctors use differential diagnoses to rule out possible causes until they arrive at the most probable cause. Unfortunately, the process of elimination can take time but be within an acceptable standard of care. However, a delayed diagnosis that results from negligence can be the basis for medical malpractice claims. An attorney in Suffolk County could review a case to determine if a doctor’s actions justify a delayed diagnosis claim.
Proving a delayed diagnosis is medical malpractice requires that the patient establish a doctor-patient relationship, creating a professional duty of care on the medical professional’s part. The patient must then demonstrate that the delayed diagnosis constitutes a breach of care and that the breach caused actual injury or harm. Developing causation can be challenging, especially as medical experts may disagree. However, working with a skilled delayed diagnosis lawyer in Suffolk County could help.
Before a delayed diagnosis can be considered negligence, the patient must prove that the outcome would have been different if the diagnosis had not been delayed. In some situations, the medical outcome would have been the same regardless of when the condition was diagnosed. However, prompt diagnosis often improves the chance of a more positive outcome.
Medical professionals should follow a standard of care for their specialty to ensure the best possible outcomes. For example, a recommended list of potential diagnoses may be provided based on a patient’s symptoms. Physicians would use that data to develop a differential diagnosis list to determine if added tests or a referral were needed. Physicians who fail to include a diagnosis in their differential list or do not order the recommended tests may be found negligent.
If a medical professional in the same specialty under similar circumstances would have included the diagnosis or ordered tests, then the treating physician may have breached a standard of care, resulting in patient harm. Medical diagnoses are complex, and an injured person should work with experienced attorneys who understand the process and have access to medical experts to explain the impact of delayed diagnosis on patient health.
Diagnostic tests such as radiology, MRIs, or tissue samples may be flawed. Samples may become contaminated, or images may be misread. In such cases, laboratory staff or radiologists may be found negligent for failing to follow standard protocols for testing.
An injured person has two and a half years from the date of the action to file a medical malpractice claim. However, a parent or guardian has ten years to file a claim for a child.
In situations where treatment is ongoing, the statute of limitation is 2.5 years after the last treatment instead of the date of the malpractice act. If the malpractice results in death, the surviving family has 2 years from the date of death to file a wrongful death claim.
Dealing with the health consequences of a delayed diagnosis can be exhausting. Adding the complexity of a medical malpractice claim can increase stress and slow recovery. Working with a Suffolk County delayed diagnosis lawyer enables you to focus on recovery without jeopardizing your ability to pursue compensation. Call Duffy & Duffy now to learn more about your legal options.
After years of serving New York–including the Bronx, Queens and Nassau, Suffolk and Kings Counties–, we are confident our injury lawyers can assist you with your claim. We are well respected by our clients, who appreciate not only the outcomes we’ve provided but also the care in which we resolved their cases. As you can see from our successful settlements, we offer excellent results, though the outcome varies depending on the case. Regardless of your case details, you can rest assured our Long Island car accident attorneys will always fight for you as you seek compensation to pay for medical bills, vehicle repairs and more. You deserve to be made whole again after your accident, and Duffy & Duffy is here to help.
No. Our injury cases are handled on a contingent retainer. You pay nothing upfront, and we recover attorney’s fees only if your litigation is successful. We don’t bill by the hour. You don’t need to worry about running up a large attorney’s bill before you see any recovery for your injuries.
Yes. Our firm is dedicated to creating a strong relationship with our clients, beginning with keeping your information and consultation confidential.
Each case we encounter is carefully screened and evidence scrutinized to make sure the claim is meritorious and may be successful at trial. We will perform an investigation, and then our partners make a final decision on whether to take on a case.
