
Diagnostic errors are among the most common medical malpractice claims in Baltimore and nationwide. This type of medical negligence can occur due to misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis. When medical professionals fail to take adequate steps or follow standard procedures to assess and diagnose symptoms, the patient can suffer serious complications, worsening health, or even death.
If this happens to you or a loved one, you should discuss your rights and options with a Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. You could have a valid medical malpractice case against a doctor, hospital, or another healthcare provider.
What Is a Medical Malpractice Diagnostic Error?
Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional fails to offer an appropriate standard of care for patients. They deviate from the accepted processes and procedures, causing them to make careless and reckless medical errors. To hold them accountable, you must show they failed to perform at the same level as other medical professionals with similar training and experience would have in the same situation.
Generally, medical negligence can cause diagnostic errors in two ways:
Misdiagnosis
A medical misdiagnosis occurs when a doctor diagnoses a patient with the wrong medical condition. Not all misdiagnosis cases are grounds for a medical malpractice claim, especially if the patient has unusual symptoms or tests are inconclusive.
However, some doctors may jump to the easiest or most common conclusion without double-checking the diagnosis by running additional tests or taking other necessary steps to rule out more serious conditions. A misdiagnosis might be malpractice if they fail to diagnose and treat the correct injury or illness.
When a patient receives treatment for the wrong diagnosis, they could have side effects from the medications or even undergo unnecessary surgery or other medical procedures. At the same time, their original condition continues to progress and cause additional symptoms.
A misdiagnosis can be deadly if the patient has an emergent condition or continues treatment for the wrong condition for an extended time. For example, imagine someone having a stroke or heart attack being sent home with nothing but a prescription for anxiety medication.
Delayed Diagnosis
A delayed diagnosis occurs when the doctor fails to determine what condition the patient has or does not make any timely diagnosis. The delay in these cases could be a few hours or months, depending on the circumstances. Doctors may only have a few minutes to recognize and treat a stroke properly but hours or weeks to diagnose cancer.
The consequences of delaying a diagnosis could mean it is too late to treat the underlying problem, and the patient could suffer unnecessary pain or even pass away.
In a successful delayed diagnosis medical malpractice claim, the patient’s Baltimore medical malpractice lawyer usually provides evidence of multiple opportunities for the medical team to discover the illness or injury and begin treatment promptly. They might have ignored test results, failed to run certain tests, or overlooked glaring symptoms.
To prove medical malpractice based on a delayed diagnosis, the legal representatives for victims and their families must show that most other doctors would have taken the necessary steps and diagnosed the condition in time to provide treatment and prevent pain and suffering, complications, and advancing health concerns.
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How Frequent Are Diagnostic Error Medical Malpractice Claims?
According to Johns Hopkins Medicine in Baltimore, MD, diagnostic errors are a leading cause of medical malpractice claims in the United States. Estimates indicate that more than 100,000 people die or suffer a lasting impairment because of a diagnostic error each year.
Not only are diagnostic errors far too common, but they are also catastrophic and expensive. This makes misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses extremely dangerous for patients. This is, in part, because many commonly misdiagnosed conditions are dangerous and deadly.
Johns Hopkins researchers found that most misdiagnoses or delayed diagnoses occur in three specific health conditions:
- Cancer
- Infections
- Vascular events, such as blood clots, strokes, or heart attacks
Together, these three conditions account for about 74 percent of all serious injuries and fatalities from diagnostic errors. Specifically, the conditions most commonly misdiagnosed or the underlying cause of a delayed diagnosis include stroke, sepsis, and lung cancer.
What Are Other Common Causes of Baltimore Medical Malpractice Claims?
Diagnostic errors are one of the most common causes of medical malpractice claims, but there are many other ways a medical care provider’s negligence can cause harm. Any time a doctor fails to provide an appropriate standard of care and harm occurs, it could support a medical malpractice claim.
Some other common reasons behind Baltimore medical negligence cases include:
- Surgical errors, including wrong-site surgery, leaving surgical instruments inside the patient, or other surgical mistakes
- Prescription medication errors
- Anesthesia errors
- Birth injuries
- Treating the wrong patient
Medical malpractice can cause severe injuries, unnecessary suffering, preventable disabilities, and even wrongful death. Doctors and other trained care providers who act carelessly or recklessly, fail to follow accepted processes and protocols, or do not provide an acceptable standard of care should be held accountable. Facilities where this behavior is acceptable, or there is a culture of this behavior, should pay for the patient’s care.
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What Should I Do If I Was a Victim of Baltimore Medical Malpractice?
If you believe you or a loved one suffered negative health outcomes because of a diagnostic error or other form of medical negligence, consider working with a Baltimore personal injury lawyer who handles medical malpractice injury claims regularly. Your medical malpractice lawyer can fight to hold the negligent health care provider accountable for their actions.
You may be eligible to recover economic and non-economic damages in a personal injury claim or lawsuit, including:
- Medical bills
- Lost wages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
You can learn more about your options for seeking financial compensation and how these claims work by discussing your circumstances with a personal injury law firm. Most firms provide a free, confidential consultation for victims and their families.
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What Is the Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Claims in Baltimore?
While Md. Code, Cts. & Jud. Proc. § 5-109 generally provides up to five years from the date of the malpractice or three years from the date of discovering the malpractice to file a medical malpractice lawsuit, numerous exceptions to the statute of limitations exist. You may have less time in your unique situation.
It is imperative to discuss your rights with a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible after you discover medical negligence.
Discuss Your Potential Medical Malpractice Case With Our Baltimore Team
Our medical malpractice attorneys at Jenner Law represent victims hurt by medical negligence in Baltimore. We handle medical malpractice cases involving diagnostic errors and many other types of medical errors. We have more than 35 years of experience and have obtained hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients.
You can discuss your rights and legal options with our team today for free. We provide confidential consultations. Contact us now to get started.
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