Misdiagnosis Cases in Indiana

Indiana Medical Malpractice Lawyers

The treatment of a patient is fully dependent on the diagnosis and prognosis based on his or her conditions. If a diagnosis is inaccurate, it can send the patient down a road of untold trouble and injury.

While there are some instances where a missed diagnosis could not have been avoided, more often than not, it is found to have been the result of negligence or incompetence on the part of the diagnosing physician.

If you were the victim of misdiagnosis due to negligence, contact our Indiana medical malpractice lawyers at Langer & Langer today for a case evaluation.

Injuries Due to Different Types of Misdiagnosis

A significant number of malpractice claims each year cite misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis as a factor in the injury. However, misdiagnosis itself does not necessarily mean that a doctor acted negligently. Because of the nature of medicine, a physician may still miss a diagnosis even when meeting a duty to care.

The key is whether the physician acted competently and whether his or her action/inaction caused the patient injury above and beyond what they would have experienced had the diagnosis been correct or timely.

The most common types of errors in diagnosis include:

• Missed diagnosis: This is when a condition goes undiagnosed completely and the patient is given a clean bill of health
• Wrong diagnosis: This is when a physician chooses the wrong medical condition as the cause of the patient’s symptoms
• Delayed diagnosis: This is when the correct diagnosis is made but after a significant, and avoidable, delay

Misdiagnosis happens most frequently in the emergency room. As stated before, it is not always the result of blatant negligence, but it is possible that it may be. In that case, the patient and his or her family have the right to pursue legal compensation from the responsible medical professional and our Indiana medical malpractice attorneys can help.

Why File a Claim for Misdiagnosis?

Misdiagnosis is not only one of the most common factors in medical malpractice cases, it is also one of the most dangerous to the patient. Conditions go untreated, or wrongly treated, and patients can suffer serious harm because of it. Missed or delayed diagnosis can even lead to death as in serious cases such as the failure to diagnose the signs of a heart attack.

At Langer & Langer, our Indiana medical malpractice attorneys’ objective is to protect the rights of patients and to encourage a higher standard of medical excellence for our local communities in Indiana. We have the experience and motivation to help you claim the damages you are owed as a victim of diagnostic malpractice.

Learn more about your options for taking legal action today by calling our firm at (219) 464-3246 or contacting us for a consultation.