In many medical malpractice cases, it is a doctor’s active mistakes that lead to patients experiencing unnecessary injuries or illnesses. In some cases, such as delayed diagnoses, a doctor’s failure to take action can also lead to indirect harm.
To win a delayed diagnosis case, patients must prove their professional relationships with their doctors; they must prove that the doctors were negligent in failing to diagnose a serious disease or disorder and that the patients themselves were harmed by this failure. Read on to find out how a delayed diagnosis lawyer in Pittsburgh PA can help.
Establishing the Professional Relationship
It’s generally pretty easy to prove that a doctor-patient relationship has been established, especially given that the relationship does not need to exist throughout the entire timespan of the delay. It can, however, be much more difficult to prove that the doctor’s negligence indirectly contributed to a patient’s serious injury, illness, or even death.
Proving Negligence
Medical negligence occurs when doctors fail to live up to the accepted standard of care required of them. This standard is usually set by a comparison between what the offending doctor did and what a reasonably competent healthcare professional would have done under similar circumstances. When it comes to delayed diagnoses, proving a breach of the standard of care is largely a matter of determining how quickly a competent doctor would have been able to diagnose the issue.
A Delayed Diagnosis Lawyer in Pittsburgh PA can do so by hiring expert witnesses. These expert witnesses are usually specialists in relevant fields who can offer opinions as to how quickly the condition should have been diagnosed.
Showing Harm
Patients must also prove that their delayed diagnoses caused them harm. This could be in the form of pain and suffering, unnecessary medical bills, and loss of pleasure or loss of earning potential. Things can become complicated during this phase of case development, as the delayed diagnosis must lead to additional damages on top of what the injury or illness itself has caused.
Get Help Today
The best way for a victim of delayed diagnoses or another form of medical malpractice to know whether or not it will be possible to receive compensation is to speak with a lawyer. Schedule an appointment today to get started.
