New York City Misdiagnosis + Failure to Diagnose Lawyer
The key to treating many conditions is to catch them early before they progress and become incurable or unmanageable. Thus, the failure to diagnose a condition can have a profoundly negative impact on one’s medical prognosis. Your chance of survival may be reduced and, if you do beat the disease or condition, your quality of life thereafter may be significantly reduced from what it would have been had the condition been diagnosed in a timely manner.
The attorneys of Sullivan & Galleshaw are dedicated to fighting for people who have suffered serious injury due to negligence or medical malpractice. Our experienced team is sympathetic & compassionate with the injured individual and his or her family while we aggressively pursue a favorable outcome.
Can a Failure to Diagnose be Considered Medical Malpractice in New York?
While a failure to diagnose or a bad medical outcome alone do not give rise to a medical malpractice claim, when combined with a deviation from an accepted medical standard of care and an injury can. That is, medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional deviates from the accepted medical standard of care and an injury is produced.
Failure to Diagnose Cancer
The failure to diagnose cancer is particularly serious because cancer treatment is more effective in the early stages of the disease. Furthermore, if the cancer has metastasized and spread throughout the body, it may already be untreatable. The reasons for a failure to diagnose cancer can include:
- Failure to conduct a physical examination.
- Failure to perform screenings as required by the patient’s medical history.
- Failure to recognize a high-risk patient.
- Failure to recognize the signs and reported symptoms of a medical condition.
- Failure to order appropriate bloodwork, imaging tests or other testing.
- Failure to interpret test results properly.
- Failure to provide adequate follow-up care.
- Failure to follow-up on test results.
- Failure to provide necessary follow-up care.
- Misdiagnosis of a malignant growth as benign.
- Delaying or refusing to refer a patient to a specialist
Cancer can affect nearly any part of the body including the breasts, cervix, colon, lungs, prostate, skin, or stomach. These failures at the outset of your treatment or when occurring during an ongoing treating relationship can deprive you of years of life where you would be able to enjoy and support your family. The attorneys of Sullivan & Galleshaw fight for you so that you family members are taken care of despite your illness or condition.
Failure to Diagnose Other Conditions
The failure to diagnose a medical condition is, unfortunately, not merely limited to cancer. In fact, just about any medical condition or illness can be missed by a doctor or medical profession. While not every missed diagnosis leads to life-threatening problems, many can and do. Other conditions that are frequently misdiagnosed or when not diagnosed that can lead to serious, life-threatening complications include:
- Anaphylaxis (shock due to allergic reaction)
- Diabetic come
- Meningitis
- Stroke
- Lyme disease
- Ketoacidosis
- Heart disease
- Gastrointestinal conditions
- Lymphoma
- Tumors
The failure to diagnose a serious medical condition like one of the above can result in life-changing consequences or even death. For expecting mothers, the failure to diagnose a developmental problem that increases the likelihood of a birth injury can be devastating. Even in the best case scenario where your condition resolves, you may be subjected to significantly more aggressive treatment that results in significant side effects and complications. Worst case scenario, you may be deprived of years of life or your quality of life may be and the things you can do may be significantly reduced and curtailed.
You Can Trust Us to Handle Your Medical Malpractice Case
The attorneys of Sullivan & Galleshaw are committed to fighting for individuals in Brooklyn, Manhattan and Queens who have been injured or wrongfully killed due to a medical mistake such as a missed diagnosis. To schedule your free, confidential medical malpractice consultation, call 718-843-0300 or contact us online.