Indiana Medical Misdiagnosis Attorney

Our Medical Misdiagnosis Lawyers Can Help with Your Claim

A missed or inaccurate diagnosis can have a significant impact on the course of a patient’s treatment and his or her ability to recover. Doctors, hospitals, and medical specialists can be held liable for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and more when diagnostic errors delay treatment and cause a patient’s condition to worsen. The Indiana medical misdiagnosis attorneys at Langer & Langer are advocates for victims who have suffered injuries because of a missed, delayed, or incorrect diagnosis. Let our legal team help you recover.

Contact the Indiana mistaken diagnosis attorneys at Langer & Langer to learn more about filing a claim. Call 219-464-3246 or contact us online.

How Common Is Medical Misdiagnosis in the United States?

Approximately 12 million people are misdiagnosed every year in the United States. That translates to roughly 5% of adult patients who receive inpatient or outpatient medical care in clinics, hospitals, and doctors’ offices.

Recent studies reveal that 88% of patients who seek a second opinion receive a different diagnosis. In nearly 28% of cases involving diagnostic errors, patients suffer life-altering or life-threatening injuries. An estimated 40,000 to 80,000 patients die each year because of a missed, mistaken, or delayed diagnosis.

Our Indiana malpractice attorney understands the devastating impact of diagnostic errors and are committed to helping families pursue justice.

Common Effects of Diagnostic Errors

Delayed Treatments
Emotional Stress
Increased Medical Bills
Increased Physical Pain
Needless Suffering
Poorer Prognosis
Unnecessary Treatments
Wrongful Death
Our medical negligence attorneys in Indiana assist clients in pursuing compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and future care costs.

How Does a Medical Misdiagnosis Happen?

When something is not right with our health, we count on medical professionals to tell us what is happening. They have access to advanced technology, training and educational materials, expert opinions, and high-tech imaging devices to help them determine the cause of our woes. Unfortunately, their diagnoses are accurate less than 90% of the time. So what goes wrong in the other 10% of cases?

Communication Errors
Failure to Check Family History
Ignored or Minimized Symptoms
Inadequate Follow-up on Test Results
Inadequate Supervision
Inadequate Training
Medical Equipment Failures
Misinterpreted Test Results
Misinterpreting Imaging
Misuse of Medical Equipment

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Wrong Diagnosis?

It is not uncommon for a team of medical professionals to participate in diagnosing a patient’s condition, especially if a rare or life-threatening disease is suspected. Although liability for injuries caused by a misdiagnosis may fall on a single medical professional, it is common for mistaken diagnosis lawyers to help victims file claims against multiple parties. These include, but are not limited to:

Doctors
Emergency Room Physicians
Hospital Staff
Hospitals
Lab Technicians
Medical Device Manufacturers
Nurses
Oncologists
Physician’s Assistants
Radiologists
Specialists
Surgeons

Should You File a Medical Claim with Wrong Diagnosis Attorneys?

In recent years, missed or mistaken diagnoses have become a leading cause of medical malpractice claims in the United States. Although filing a claim for injuries won’t erase the time that has been lost, the physical damage that has been done, or the emotional stress you have endured, guidance for patients after doctor negligence can help ensure that negligent medical professionals are held accountable. Families who have suffered the loss of a loved one due to a misdiagnosis may also consult a medical malpractice wrongful death attorney to explore their legal options. This may deter similar acts in the future. A medical malpractice injury award can also help you cover medical bills and the cost of future medical care, reimburse you for your lost income, and compensate you for the pain, suffering, and mental anguish that you would not have experienced but for the hospital’s negligence.

What Makes a Misdiagnosis Claim Viable in Indiana?

For your claim to be successful, four elements must exist for your wrong diagnosis injury claim to be viable.

Duty of Care

Mistaken diagnosis attorneys will need to prove that the medical provider owed you a duty of care to provide you with the standard of care expected of a medical provider in the same or a similar situation when you were diagnosed or a diagnosis was missed. The relationship is generally created when the medical professional agrees to provide services requested by the patient.

Breach of Duty

To establish breach of duty, your medical malpractice attorney must show that the healthcare professional deviated from the standard of care that was expected through negligent acts or omissions. This might include misdiagnosing your condition, ignoring signs or symptoms of a condition and thereby missing or delaying the diagnosis of your condition, or diagnosing you with a condition that you did not have.

Causation

Your mistaken diagnosis attorney must demonstrate that a link exists between the healthcare provider’s negligence and your injuries. If the doctor missed diagnosing heart disease, for example, but your condition worsened because your cancer treatment failed to work, the physician cannot be held liable for damages related to your cancer. The missed diagnosis must have played a role in causing your injuries.

Damages

Significant harm must have been caused to you because of the medical care provider’s missed, delayed, or mistaken diagnosis. If a doctor’s misdiagnosis could have caused you to be injured, but no injury happened, the physician cannot be held liable because of no damages.

Medical Misdiagnosis FAQs

What is the time limit to file a lawsuit for mistaken diagnosis in Indiana?

Patients in Indiana typically have just two years from the date of the occurrence. But, a minor less than age six has until the minor’s eighth birthday to file a claim.

How much is my medical misdiagnosis claim worth?

While no malpractice attorney can guarantee the amount you will receive by filing a mistaken diagnosis claim, our lawyers will evaluate the amount and type of medical treatment needed because of the misdiagnosis, your resulting medical bills, pain and suffering, and lost income to provide you with an estimate.

Can I sue the radiologist for a wrong diagnosis?

Yes. If the radiologist misinterpreted the imaging or failed to report your condition, and you suffered injury because of it, you may be able to sue him or her for negligence.