Even the healthiest individuals fall ill from time to time. Often, people are able to fight off ailments on their own. Nonetheless, more serious cases may require intervention from a doctor.
When your immune system can’t fight off whatever is making you sick, you rely on the assistance of a doctor to diagnose the problem and fix it. Essentially, your health, and maybe even your life, are in their hands.
Medical professionals owe you a legal duty of care. Sometimes, innocent mistakes happen, even from the most highly trained professionals. However, there are occasions where medical errors occur because of negligence. Were you misdiagnosed by a doctor? If so, could this have been negligent?
Were you treated with complacency?
It takes a lot of time and effort to become a doctor. Not only do you have to spend several years at college, but there is additional on-the-job training. In fact, the training never really ends. Unfortunately, some doctors cross the line from being confident to being complacent. Doctors have a responsibility to rule out all other possibilities and make an accurate diagnosis through thorough testing procedures. They can’t simply go with their gut. If a doctor takes shortcuts because they believe they have seen it all before, this could result in a misdiagnosis.
More than one person might be responsible
Medical teams have a heavy workload and they often have to share this among colleagues. Your care may have been the responsibility of a medical team rather than one person. While team operations can be more efficient, there is a danger that important information gets lost in translation. A breakdown in communication could lead to a misdiagnosis, which ultimately might put your life at risk.
If you’re misdiagnosed, this means that you will not get the treatment that you need. Ultimately, this can be life-threatening. If your medical misdiagnosis occurred due to negligence, then you may be entitled to legal compensation.