Whether you’re going to your regular family doctor for a checkup, going to a specialist for a unique procedure, or need emergency care at a hospital, you should be able to trust the doctor caring for you will do everything they can to identify any problems you are dealing with and provide appropriate care for them. While most medical professionals meet this basic standard of care without any issue, the ones who don’t can allow their patients to suffer serious and preventable harm as a result.
If you’ve been hurt by your doctor in this way, you should consider contacting a skilled Bensalem failure to diagnose lawyer sooner rather than later. Claims built around this form of misconduct can be tricky, and a seasoned medical malpractice attorney’s support can make a world of difference in how effectively you can enforce your rights under Pennsylvania law.
Understanding the Standard of Care for Doctors
One very important thing to understand about failure to diagnose claims is that doctors aren’t expected to be perfect. Instead, they are expected to meet a specific standard of care with all their patients, meaning they’re expected to act in the same way that any equally qualified physician would with the same working conditions and same information available to them.
If your doctor makes an educated guess about an illness based on the symptoms you’re presenting and ends up slightly wrong with their initial diagnosis, you certainly have reason to be annoyed, but you might not have grounds to file a malpractice lawsuit against that doctor. On the other hand, if your doctor completely ignores symptoms, fails to read test results correctly, or does something else unprofessional that directly leads to them failing to diagnose you correctly, a Bensalem attorney may be able to help you take legal action over any physical harm you suffer as a result.
Special Rules for Failure to Diagnose Lawsuits
Another important thing to know about suing over a failure to diagnose in Bensalem is that Pennsylvania courts will not just take your word for it—or even the word of your lawyer—that you were hurt because of medical malpractice. Instead, you need to show that at least one other qualified medical expert agrees, based on their review of all available evidence, that you were hurt specifically because of a violation of the standard of care.
As your legal counsel can explain in more detail, this is typically done by filing a certificate of merit with your initial complaint or within 60 days of filing that complaint with the court. You also need to make sure you or your legal representative file that initial complaint within two years of when you first discovered you were harmed through your doctor’s failure to diagnose
Talk to a Bensalem Failure to Diagnose Attorney About Legal Options
It can be hard to know what to do after seeking help from a medical professional and getting worse instead of better. You should always prioritize your own health and make sure you get the care you need from a trustworthy doctor—but after that, you should explore your options for suing the doctor who failed to give you the care you deserved in the first place.
A Bensalem failure to diagnose lawyer can help you understand and take full advantage of your rights under Pennsylvania law. Call Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers today to learn more.
