Despite years of training and study, doctors sometimes make mistakes. When medical professionals fail to treat a patient’s disease, it can lead to undue suffering and injury.
A doctor might fail to treat a patient if they do not diagnose a disease or make an incorrect diagnosis. For many illnesses, such as most forms of cancer, early diagnosis and treatment are critical. When doctors fail to treat these diseases early, patients suffer unnecessary harm.
If you or a loved one have suffered injuries because a doctor failed to treat your illness, a Los Angeles failure to treat lawyer might be able to help you seek awards in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today at (800) 794-0444 for a free case review with a team member.
Common Misdiagnoses
Misdiagnoses happen more often than you think. BMJ Journals reported a study that found diagnostic errors may affect one out of every 20 American adults, or around 12 million people. If a doctor does not correctly identify your condition, they cannot properly treat it.
Commonly misdiagnosed conditions include:
- Cancer
- Heart attack
- Depression
- Celiac disease
- Stroke
- Lyme disease
- Fibromyalgia
- Thyroid conditions
- Aortic dissection
- Pulmonary embolism
Some conditions have symptoms commonly mistaken for other diseases. If a doctor does not treat the correct illness, they might subject their patient to needless suffering. Some conditions often confused with others include:
- Lupus: Confused with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, or rheumatoid arthritis.
- Parkinson’s disease: Often misdiagnosed as Alzheimer’s disease, stroke, stress, traumatic head injury, or essential tremor.
- Multiple sclerosis: Sometimes mistaken as viral infection, lupus, Alzheimer’s disease, or bipolar disorder.
- Chronic fatigue syndrome: Often confused with sinus problems, hepatitis, fibromyalgia, lupus, or rheumatoid arthritis.
How Conditions Get Misdiagnosed
A medical professional has many diagnostic tools at their disposal to determine what illness their patient has. Failing to avail themselves of any of the following tools could lead to a misdiagnosis:
- Reviewing a patient’s medical history.
- Conducting a thorough physical examination.
- Ordering diagnostic testing, such as CT scans, MRIs, PET scans, and X-rays.
Even after ordering a test, sometimes there is a delay in getting the results back. In other instances, a doctor receives inaccurate or inconclusive test results, fails to interpret the test results accurately, or does not communicate the results to the patient.
Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice happens when a healthcare professional fails to execute their duty to a patient properly. In medical malpractice cases, plaintiffs must prove:
- The healthcare provider had a duty to care for the patient.
- The healthcare provider failed to uphold their duty of care while treating the patient.
- That failure caused the patient to suffer further harm.
- The patient incurred damages, such as medical bills or lost income, because of the provider’s negligent actions.
Duty of Care
The duty of care is a standard and acceptable practice that a reasonable professional would execute in their field. When medical professionals fail to perform their duty of care, they have behaved negligently.
A Los Angeles failure to treat lawyer with Pintas & Mullins Law Firm might be able to investigate your malpractice claim and prove your health care provider acted negligently, resulting in damages to you or your loved one. Call us today to speak with a team member about your case.
For a free legal consultation with a Failure to Treat Lawyer serving Los Angeles, call (800) 794-0444
How a Lawyer May Be Able to Help
If you have suffered because a doctor failed to treat your illness, a Los Angeles failure to treat lawyer might be able to help you seek awards for the following damages:
- Medical expenses: You may be entitled to awards for doctor’s visits, diagnostic testing, surgeries, medications, physical therapy, and more. If a health care provider failed to treat your illness, resulting in your condition worsening, they might be responsible for your treatment costs.
- Lost wages: Has your condition caused you to miss work? You might qualify for past wages, future lost wages, or permanent disability payments.
- Pain and suffering: Did a healthcare provider’s failure to treat your illness result in pain, suffering, stress, mental anguish, and anxiety? You might receive compensation for your pain and suffering.
- Punitive damages: Sometimes, when a defendant has acted particularly recklessly, a court might order them to pay punitive damages as a type of punishment.
- Wrongful death: If your loved one died because of a healthcare professional’s failure to treat their condition, you might be able to seek awards, including compensation for your loss of future financial support and loss of companionship.
Statute of Limitations
If you believe that you might want to take legal action, you should be aware of California’s statute of limitations on medical malpractice lawsuits. CCP § 340.5 allows three years from the time of injury, or one year after discovering the injury, to commence legal action for medical malpractice. If the statute of limitations expires, a court will likely dismiss your case, although there are exceptions. A Los Angeles failure to treat lawyer can help you file your lawsuit before the deadline runs out or determine if one of the exceptions applies to your claim.
Los Angeles Failure to Treat Lawyer Near Me (800) 794-0444
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm Is Here to Help
Pintas & Mullins Law Firm has helped more than 10,000 clients across the country with medical malpractice cases. Our legal team has more than 50 years of combined experience in personal injury and medical malpractice law. We have helped victims win millions of dollars in settlements, and we might be able to help you, too.
Our legal team can help you gather evidence to support your claims, including medical bills, patient records, eyewitness testimony, and expert testimony. We are not afraid to stand up to doctors, hospitals, or insurance providers. Our goal is to provide you with the tools to achieve the best possible outcome for your case.
Battling an illness is stressful enough without having to worry about mounting expenses. If a medical provider’s negligence led to them failing to treat your condition, our team could help you fight for compensation while you focus on getting better.
We work on a contingency basis, meaning you pay nothing upfront or out-of-pocket. We only collect a fee if we successfully negotiate a settlement or win a judgment for you. To learn more about how our team can help, call Pintas & Mullins Law Firm today at (800) 794-0444 for your free, no-risk consultation.
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