Dallas Medical Malpractice Attorneys | Why is Failure to Diagnose Considered Malpractice?

Failure to diagnose claims constitute almost half of the medical malpractice claims filed every year. This may seem a bit odd if you're not familiar with medical malpractice law, but it revolves around what a doctor's duties are to their patients. Among those duties is the duty to find when there's a problem with the patient and to make an accurate diagnosis. In fact, this is the first part of any successful treatment. Doctors spend a great deal of their careers sharpening their skills at diagnosis. When they fail in this capacity, people are sometimes grievously injured.

As an example of this, consider the worst possible type of doctor; the kind of doctor who sees as many patients as possible so that they can make as much money as possible. When this is the case, the quality of the healthcare tends to diminish simply because the doctor doesn't have enough time to spend on each patient. Doctors who don't spend enough time with their patients may miss potentially life-threatening medical conditions. A negligent examination of your skin by a dermatologist, for example, may mean that they miss a malignant melanoma that could have been removed before it became a problem.

Failure to diagnose cases are worth pursuing if you've been harmed because of them. A doctor who took you on as a patient and then didn't deliver an acceptable level of care is certainly in a position to have harmed you. If they missed that melanoma while it was a Stage I cancer, you may be looking at a Stage III cancer before a good doctor takes a second look at you. Failure to diagnose can literally create life and death situations for the patients who are wronged by doctors who fail to hold up their duties.

Only medical malpractice attorneys have the specialized knowledge required to recognize when one of these claims can be filed. If you believe that your doctor didn't come through in terms of their duty to provide you with an accurate diagnosis, contact a malpractice attorney. They may be willing to sit down and talk with you at no charge as part of their free consultation service. They may also take your case on a contingency. This means that, if they cannot help you by winning a settlement or jury award, that you don't pay them a thing for their services.