Health conditions, diseases, and illness symptoms can vary from one patient to another, especially with severe ones like cancer, which usually tends to give deceiving signs in the early stages of its detection. Most of us trust doctors’ opinions and diagnoses without being the least suspicious of any faults. However, human errors and mistakes are very common. Professionals’ negligence, whether deliberate or not, still happens, despite the fact that medical care and scientific development contributed to humans’ well-being over the years. Misdiagnosis can be life-changing; health complications can occur due to delayed treatment and in many cases, it can be life-threatening leading to major health deterioration. A lot of illnesses can be better treated or contained if diagnosed correctly. If you experience misdiagnoses you need to ask yourself a very important question, has your physician breached any medical care standards that have led to this situation, or was it due to misinterpretation of symptoms? In the eyes of the law, not all errors that occur mean that you have experienced medical negligence. Here are 4 things that you should do if your doctor gives you the wrong diagnosis.
1- Take a Second Medical Opinion
If you are suspected of being misdiagnosed by your healthcare provider you should immediately seek another medical opinion. Do not keep taking the same medication if you did not feel any better at a reasonable period of time, it obviously means that this type of therapy is not the correct one for your case. Taking a second opinion will not harm you but experiencing the same symptoms after diagnosis is likely to cause further complications to your health condition. The second doctor will probably run more tests and ask for previous medical reports, so make sure you provide him with the right information in order to get the needed help. If you were subject to a mistreatment error, your second doctor will mainly focus on treating whatever conditions occurred due to this error before he starts with the appropriate treatment for your illness.
2- Medical Records Request
Always request medical records and keep track of your health reports even if you’ve never experienced medical malpractice. Requesting a copy of all documents and records about your medical health, diagnosis, tests, drug prescriptions, and medical history is of great importance. This information is crucial to prove that you were subject to medical malpractice. Any decent misdiagnosis lawyer in Washington DC would recommend that you request these medical records before filing a claim. Falsifying any information is illegal but that does not prevent health care providers from committing such acts in order to avoid all liability for medical errors. Your medical history reports can save your life in case you experienced any emergency. It can also make your case eligible and prove that you were exposed to medical negligence.
3- Keep A Journal
If you fall victim to misdiagnosis, a helpful thing to do is to keep a journal and take notes of any health conditions that occur. For instance, if you missed days at work or had to take time off due to the deterioration of your health, which occurred as a result of medical malpractice; register this information in full detail. Explain how you felt, what symptoms you’ve endured, and the exact dates. This journal is going to play an important role as evidence of what you suffered from as a result of the doctor’s mistake. Keeping a detailed journal will also pinpoint the harm that could’ve been avoided if you received an accurate and timely diagnosis. Your health provider can be held responsible for having you endure the pain and suffering you went through due to his delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis. When filing a claim, this type of information is very important to achieve the best outcome in your case.
4- Contact An Experienced Attorney
Cases of medical malpractices are extremely complicated, it is best to hire a qualified attorney to represent you in court instead of doing it yourself. Seeking the right help will support you with the injuries and damages you’ve already experienced. It is recommended to schedule a consultation with an injury attorney before hiring one and having to go through all the paperwork required. You need to make sure that this attorney is experienced enough to present your case. You need to give a full explanation and detailed information about your health condition, no matter how insignificant any detail might seem to you. Injury attorneys are well trained to gather evidence and carry further investigations to prove that you are a victim of a medical error. The legal aspect of your case is now the responsibility of someone professional while you should be able to handle the recovery of your injuries and the psychological damage you had to go through. Whatever inconveniences that turned your life into a nightmare as a result of this mistake will be taken into consideration in your claim. You need to avoid contacting any involved parties or threatening your health provider, also making posts on any social media platforms can be of great damage to your case. Once the defendant gets notified, the insurance company might attempt to contact you, do not answer any questions, and just ask the insurance adjuster to contact your attorney.
Mistakes and errors are human defects that tend to happen no matter how science continues to develop and progress. What is not acceptable is negligence, especially if it becomes a life-threatening issue that causes harm and damage to your life affecting your daily practices. If a doctor misdiagnoses an illness or any symptoms due to his disregard of former health records or the need to apply further medical tests, he should be held responsible for his dereliction of duty. In this case, hiring an experienced attorney to best handle your case is crucial. Keeping medical records and requesting detailed documents of your health condition is important evidence to prove that you are a victim of medical malpractice. While consulting an injury attorney, every piece of information that you deliver is substantial no matter how insignificant you think it might be.
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