Failure to diagnose in Kentucky

Kentucky Failure to Diagnose Attorneys

Lexington and Louisville medical misdiagnosis lawyers on your side

The best way to treat your medical problem is with a proper and timely diagnosis. When you visit a physician and explain your symptoms, you have the right to expect your doctor will perform the appropriate diagnostic tests or procedures to determine a diagnosis. When a doctor fails diagnose you properly, misdiagnoses your condition, or does not diagnose your condition in a timely manner, you may have experienced medical malpractice.

Unfortunately, medical mistakes and negligence are far more common than you might think. Whether you were misdiagnosed or became ill or injured due to lack of a proper diagnosis, the qualified Kentucky personal injury lawyers at Wilt Injury Lawyers can help hold the right parties responsible. Contact our attorneys in Lexington or Louisville today.

What does failure to diagnose mean?

When we talk about “failure to diagnose,” we are talking about three different scenarios.

Failure to diagnose is exactly what it sounds like – when a physician or other healthcare provider fails to identify your condition and you suffer injury as a result. Misdiagnosis is similar, in that you are diagnosed with the wrong condition, allowing your actual condition to progress. Delayed diagnosis happens when your doctor takes a significantly long time to provide an accurate diagnosis, causing unnecessary harm. All of these fall under the umbrella of Kentucky medical malpractice.

In other words, when a healthcare provider has a medical malpractice claim brought against them for failure to diagnose, this means that the provider in question failed to diagnose a patient with an injury or illness where another healthcare provider, equally as educated and experienced, would not have made a mistake.

Failure to diagnose may sound uncommon, but you might be surprised at how often physicians and other healthcare providers will write off a patient’s symptoms or refuse to do diagnostic testing in order to address the patient’s concerns.

If you feel like this has happened to you or a loved one, get in touch with our Kentucky law firm today.

What are common types of diagnostic errors?

Healthline reports that, in the US, 12 million people suffer the effects of medical misdiagnosis every year. Further, between 40,000 and 80,000 people die from these errors, with women and minorities at a higher risk of being misdiagnosed. Per Healthline, diagnostic errors are:

…[A]n under-discussed issue that touches all aspects of the healthcare field — from physicians and healthcare systems themselves to, most crucially, the patients whose lives might be on the line as a result of an inaccurate initial diagnosis…Tackling how to make diagnostic error less common means tackling everything from human mistakes to traditional but flawed procedures for treating and diagnosing conditions.

Our experienced Kentucky malpractice attorneys help adults and children who have suffered severe injury due to undiagnosed or misdiagnosed conditions like:

  • Cancer
  • Aneurysms
  • Heart attacks
  • Strokes
  • Blood clots/DVTs
  • Pulmonary embolisms
  • Infections
  • Ectopic pregnancies
  • Heart defects
  • Cardiac issues
  • Meningitis
  • Birth injuries

How do I prove my Kentucky failure to diagnose case?

As with all medical malpractice cases, the success of your claim hinges on whether or not your healthcare provider violated what’s called a standard of care.

The medical standard of care is the basis for any medical malpractice lawsuit. Essentially, these are the decisions that any reasonably competent medical professional would have made in any given medical situation. A breach of this standard of care is what warrants the pursuit of your medical malpractice claim.

For example, if Physician A fails to treat or diagnose a medical condition that Physician B (of similar education, training, and experience) would have, Physician A could be subject to a medical malpractice lawsuit, especially when the patient ends up experiencing injury and harm.

How can a Kentucky failure to diagnose lawyer help?

Medical malpractice cases are some of the most complex types of personal injury cases in Kentucky. Although it is not a legal requirement to enlist a medical malpractice lawyer, having a reputable attorney with experience litigating these types of cases could make all the difference in the outcome of your case.

This is particularly true when you are feeling overwhelmed at the thought of filing a lawsuit against a seemingly powerful medical professional or hospital. Your attorney can handle all the legal details of your case, gather evidence, negotiate with the insurance company, and represent your best interests in court, should it become necessary.

Once you have made the decision to hire an attorney, your lawyer can start on your case. The first step is reviewing all the details of your illness or injury, which includes your medical records and what mistakes your healthcare provider made. From there, we’ll gather the evidence needed to support your case, including medical documentation, witness statements, expert testimony, photographs, and more.

Next, we negotiate with the insurance company to determine whether we can obtain a reasonable insurance settlement. In many cases, even if we are able to obtain a settlement from the insurance company, it likely won’t come close to the full extent of your losses. In these situations, we will then prepare to bring your case to trial to maximize the settlement and ensure you secure the compensation and justice to which you are entitled. Talk to Wilt Injury Lawyers today.

How long will my Kentucky medical malpractice case take?

Our clients often have questions regarding the length of their medical malpractice lawsuit, and it makes sense. When you’ve already been victimized by your physician, surgeon, or other medical professional, the last thing you need is a long, drawn-out personal injury lawsuit taking more of your time and energy.

The amount of time it will take to resolve your medical malpractice lawsuit largely depends on the circumstances of your case, such as how serious your injury or illness was, the severity of the mistake, and several other contributing factors. Your attorney will need to thoroughly investigate and review your medical records, as well as other details of your case in order to build a compelling lawsuit.

Along the way, our Kentucky attorneys also gather the evidence we need to support your medical malpractice lawsuit so it can be used against the liable party in the negotiations with the insurance company and in court. This process can take months or longer, based on the complexity of your case.

Negotiating with the insurance company and/or going to court could take a considerable amount of time as well. Seeking compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit is not easy, but if your attorney is diligent and works to build a powerful lawsuit, it may be worth the effort in the end.

Obtaining an insurance settlement may be a faster way to secure compensation, but going to trial could yield more favorable results, despite the fact that these types of cases could take years to resolve. Your best bet is to meet with one of our attorneys in a no-risk personal consultation to talk about the details of your potential case. We want to help.

Do you have a failure to diagnose attorney near me?

Wilt Injury Lawyers has offices in Louisville and Lexington:

Louisville Office

13113 Eastpoint Park Blvd. Suite A
Louisville, KY 40223
Phone: 502-253-9110

Lexington Office

196 W. Lowry Lane, Suite 1
Lexington, KY 40503
Phone: 502-461-1481

If you are too injured or ill to travel to us, we can arrange a phone or video conference. We also make hospital visits when necessary.

Reputable failure to diagnose lawyers serving Louisville and Lexington

If you believe your healthcare provider failed to diagnose you properly and you suffered undue illness or injury as a result, you are entitled to seek compensation. Get help and justice, from an experienced Kentucky medical malpractice lawyer at Wilt Injury Lawyers. To learn more, please call 502-253-9110 or fill out our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We maintain offices in Lexington and Louisville, and proudly serve clients throughout Kentucky.