A delayed diagnosis can have devastating consequences, and in some cases, it may be considered medical malpractice. Diagnostic errors are among the most common types of medical negligence, and failing to diagnose a serious condition in a timely manner can lead to life-altering or even life-threatening outcomes. When this happens, pursuing a medical malpractice claim may be essential for covering the long-term costs of the mistake.
Like other types of medical mistakes, determining whether a delayed diagnosis constitutes medical malpractice requires a thorough assessment of the specific facts and circumstances involved. Here is an overview of some of the key considerations for assessing patients’ and families’ legal rights:
In order for a delayed diagnosis to constitute medical malpractice, the doctor must have had the opportunity to provide a timely diagnosis. This means that the patient must have seen the doctor previously—and the doctor must have been in a position to learn of the need for a diagnosis during this prior visit.
For example, if you scheduled an appointment because you had concerns about difficulty breathing and chest pain, then a delayed diagnosis of lung cancer could provide grounds for a medical malpractice claim. On the other hand, if your initial visit was for a broken wrist, then the fact that your doctor did not order the tests necessary to diagnose lung cancer likely would not constitute medical malpractice in this scenario.
Of course, while these are two relatively straightforward examples, delayed diagnosis cases can be (and often are) far more complex. For example, let’s say you were taken to the emergency room (ER) after being knocked unconscious in a car accident. If the ER doctor fails to diagnose internal bleeding before it leads to complications that could have been prevented, does this delayed diagnosis constitute medical practice? It’s a possibility, but more information will be necessary to accurately assess your legal rights.
One of the most common causes of delayed diagnosis is failure to order necessary scans or tests. Far too often, doctors conduct physical exams and then send patients home without giving due consideration to all possible diagnoses.
While doctors must be careful not to indiscriminately order scans and tests, it is more important that they order appropriate scans and tests when necessary. If you complained of symptoms that were relevant to your eventual diagnosis during a prior visit and were sent home without the necessary scans or tests being performed, this could justify a medical malpractice claim.
Along with failing to order necessary scans or tests, overlooking or ignoring signs that point to a particular diagnosis can provide grounds for a medical malpractice claim as well. This can involve:
In medical malpractice cases, one of the key questions is whether the failure in question (i.e., a delayed diagnosis) represents a failure to provide the requisite standard of care. All of the issues listed above can potentially fall below the requisite standard of care depending on the circumstances involved. When you hire an experienced medical malpractice lawyer to assess your legal rights, your lawyer will carefully evaluate the circumstances of your case to determine if a medical malpractice claim is warranted.
Regardless of the specific issue involved, in order for a delayed diagnosis to warrant a medical malpractice claim, it must lead to additional complications or costs (or both). If you don’t have any damages to recover, then you don’t have a medical malpractice claim under Illinois law.
Of course, delayed diagnoses will lead to additional complications and costs in many cases. Patients and families who are coping with the effects of delayed diagnoses will often have substantial claims for damages. Here too, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help you understand your legal rights, and then you can use this information to decide whether you want to take legal action.
If you are coping with the effects of a delayed diagnosis in Illinois, we encourage you to contact us for a free, no-obligation consultation about your legal rights.
Contact Coplan + Crane today online or at 312-982-0588 to schedule a FREE case evaluation. We welcome clients from across Illinois, including Chicago, Oak Park, Rockford, and other areas. We handle these cases on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay unless we win
