FREE CONSULTATION

206-752-4366

Failure to Diagnose Lawsuits

Surgical Error Lawsuit

Missed diagnoses, lack of diagnosis and failure to diagnose are defined as a lack of diagnosis that leads to no, delayed or inaccurate treatment. Failure to diagnose a patient with an illness can cause serious health problems for the patient up to and including long-term decline in health or even death. In many cases, a patient seeks diagnosis for symptoms that they are experiencing but the physician dismisses them as something benign or not needing treatment. For example, a woman is having stomach symptoms related to ovarian cancer and is referred to a gastroenterologist instead of a gynecologist who could diagnose and order treatment for the cancer. The bottom line is that when a medical professional fails to diagnose a patient, proper treatment is denied. This is particularly devastating in situations where the medical condition is treatable when caught early.

If you or a loved one has suffered a worsening condition, a significant delay in treatment or death because of a misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose you may have a case for medical negligence. Seek the help of a medical malpractice lawyer right away; he or she may be able to file a failure to diagnose lawsuit to pursue damages on your behalf.

Failure to diagnose statistics

Failure to diagnose happens at alarming rates. A report released by the National Academy of Medicine states that most Americans will have a missed or incorrect diagnoses at least once in their lives. The percentage of missed and mis-diagnoses versus accurate diagnoses, although difficult to pin down, is estimated at 40 percent. This translates to more than 12 million Americans affected by failure to diagnose every year.

In many cases missed and misdiagnoses go unreported because the family may not realize that the decline in health or death of their loved one was a result of negligence. Some families request an autopsy to reveal the true cause of death but the professionals involved may not be willing to recommend this course of action.

Common failure to diagnose cases

When a patient seeks medical help, he or she trusts that their healthcare provider will listen to their symptoms and take the appropriate steps to make an accurate diagnosis or refer them to a specialist. Unfortunately this expectation is not always met.

Failure to diagnose lawsuits are commonly seen in missed diagnoses for:

  • Pulmonary embolisms
  • Heart attacks
  • Aortic dissections
  • Appendicitis
  • Infections
  • Pneumonia
  • Cancer
    • Colorectal
    • Breast
    • Lung
    • Testicular
    • Prostate
    • Cervical

If you or a loved one is suffering from the effects of a missed diagnosis, you may be entitled to re-coup damages through a medical malpractice lawsuit. Medical malpractice lawyers have the knowledge, expertise and contacts to gather medical records and interview and retain expert witnesses needed to win malpractice lawsuits.

The Seattle personal injury attorneys at Morrow Kidman Tinker Macey-Cushman, PLLC have years of experience representing families harmed by medical malpractice. We seek justice for patients who have been harmed by preventable medical errors including birth injuries, hospital-acquired infections and wrongful death in Seattle and across Washington State. There are no fees or expenses to file a personal injury case as we only receive payment if we recover damages on your behalf. Do not delay; personal injury claims come with a Statute of Limitations, which means they must be filed within a certain time frame of the injury.

Call us now at (206) 752-4366 or contact us online to schedule a free consultation with one of our compassionate, experienced attorneys.