Studies have reported that, throughout the country, medical professionals delay the diagnosis of or misdiagnose fatal illnesses about 20 percent of the time. And it is an unfortunate fact that this percentage has not really changed since the 1930s. Follow along to find out how a delayed diagnosis can affect you and how one of the proficient New York City delayed diagnose lawyers at Mark L. Bodner, P.C. can help you through this.
What are the common causes of a delayed diagnosis in New York?
More often than not, a delayed diagnosis is due to the neglect of a medical professional. Examples of such are as follows:
- A medical professional fails to conduct basic screening tests, examinations, and other standard practices.
- A medical professional fails to spend enough time with a patient and/or fails to follow up with a patient.
- A medical professional fails to identify the symptoms that a patient is exhibiting.
- A medical professional fails to order X-rays, CAT scans, and/or MRIs when necessary.
- A medical professional fails to complete mammograms and/or ultrasounds when necessary.
- A medical professional fails to complete laboratory blood work when necessary.
- A medical professional fails to interpret and/or handle test results properly.
How can a delayed diagnosis affect me in the long term?
Essentially, when a medical professional fails to diagnose a disease or otherwise a medical condition promptly, this can make the difference between life and death for the patient. This is because the success of treatment options and survival chances directly correlates to how early the disease has been detected. And so, what was once an easily treatable medical condition can become untreatable and unmanageable, and ultimately can worsen to the point of premature and unnecessary death.
With all of this considered, if you have received a delayed diagnosis by a medical professional and are now unnecessarily left at the mercy of your disease, then you may be eligible to file a medical malpractice claim. You may be able to recover the damages you incurred with a successful claim. Examples of such damages are as follows:
- Economic damages:
- The wages you lost due to your disease.
- Your anticipated inability to earn a living due to your disease due to your delayed diagnosis.
- The medical expenses you incurred from your disease (i.e., hospitalizations, surgeries, treatments, tests, prescriptions, etc).
- Your anticipated medical expenses due to your delayed diagnosis.
- Non-economic damages:
- Your physical and mental pain and suffering from your disease.
- Your loss of enjoyment of life from your disease.
- Your loss of consortium from your disease.
If you require assistance with how to go about legal action, you must retain legal representation from one of the talented New York City delayed diagnosis lawyers. Pick up the phone and give our firm a call as soon as you can.