Failure to diagnose is a type of health care provider negligence and a common form of medical malpractice. These legal cases involve doctors and other medical professionals failing to follow the proper protocol and identify a patient’s condition in an appropriate and timely manner.
If you have been harmed by a provider’s negligence, your claim must demonstrate to a court that they deviated from the usual and accepted method of care and were the direct cause of your injuries. These laws may get complex, so having an experienced medical malpractice attorney on your side is crucial. Reach out to a skilled Homerville failure to diagnose lawyer from Helms Law Firm to learn how you can pursue justice and compensation.
A missed diagnosis can occur for many reasons. A physician may fail in numerous acts that would lead to a diagnosis, including:
Any lapse in judgment, even if brief, can escalate a minor health problem into a life-threatening one with serious repercussions and substantial health impacts. Typical scenarios include delaying a cancer diagnosis in the early stages or misdiagnosing it altogether, infections becoming severe, or concerns that lead to heart attacks. It can lead to disease progression, organ damage, and in the worst circumstances, death. Patients can also suffer unnecessary pain, require additional surgical procedures, and live the rest of their lives with disabilities, substantially impacting their quality of life.
The extra medical costs, lost wages, and need for long-term medical care and services often have a substantial financial burden on patients as well. During an initial appointment, a Homerville failure to diagnose an attorney could answer questions about the guidelines and process of filing a lawsuit.
Medical malpractice claims arise when health care providers—including doctors, nurses, or entire care facilities—deviate from the typical and accepted standard of care that any other provider in a similar circumstance would provide. Under the rules provided in the Official Code of Georgia Annotated § 51-1-27, the definition of health care provider malpractice encompasses any negligent or wrongful action or omission that causes harm to a patient.
Building a strong case is crucial, and an attorney must secure solid evidence to help prove important elements, including:
Many states nationwide, including Georgia, also require additional pre-filing steps for cases involving medical malpractice. The plaintiff and a Homerville lawyer must obtain an expert affidavit with a sworn statement confirming that the care the patient received fell below the acceptable standards when the provider failed to diagnose them and that they suffered harm as a result.
Civil laws in Georgia impose tight deadlines for filing medical malpractice claims, and missing either one of them could mean losing eligibility to obtain a settlement. The first is the personal injury statute of limitations, and the patient must file a suit within two years from the date the injuries occurred.
The second is the five-year statute of repose, which is an absolute cutoff. The civil court will automatically dismiss any claims involving medical provider negligence filed more than five years after the negligence occurred without exception, regardless of when the patient discovered the damages.
There is an exception for minor children who were under five at the time the malpractice happened. The two-year statute of limitations extends until their seventh birthday, and the statute of repose until the day they turn ten years old.
Homerville patients of any age affected by a doctor’s failure to diagnose them should work with a dedicated lawyer to ensure everything is filed within the appropriate deadlines.
When a doctor neglects to follow proper protocol, leading to a missed diagnosis of a condition, you may have options for seeking justice. When the illness gets worse because of their mistake, civil laws provide the process to take legal action against the provider to hold them legally and financially responsible.
While the procedures are available to patients, the process is challenging to navigate, and reaching out to an experienced legal professional is essential. Call today to schedule a consultation if you need help from a Homerville failure to diagnose lawyer.
