It only takes one bad medical experience to shake your trust in the profession—leaving you with anxiety, frustration, fear, or even self-doubt. In addition to coping with these emotions, you now face the challenge of managing a condition that could have been properly treated if your doctor had fulfilled their duty of care.
At LaCourse Law, we understand the impact of medical negligence, and are here to help. An experienced Tulsa failure-to-diagnose lawyer could stand by your side, ensuring you do not have to fight for justice alone. Our dedicated medical malpractice attorneys handle every aspect of your case, from negotiating with insurance companies to gathering crucial evidence and securing the right medical experts to review your claim. You deserve answers—and we are committed to helping you get them.
Failure to diagnose a patient correctly can result from a wide range of issues. The most common causes of failing to diagnose are inadequate testing, misinterpreted test results, dismissal of patient symptoms, poor communication among medical professionals or between providers and patients, and systemic problems such as understaffing, undertraining, or an overwhelming number of patients.
While it may seem like a small mistake, a provider’s failure to adequately diagnose their patient can result in serious injuries, such as:
A Tulsa attorney’s investigation into the cause and severity of your injuries from a failure to diagnose can dictate the course of your case. More severe injuries often mean greater monetary damages to cover the higher medical expenses needed for treatment. Identifying the cause helps your lawyer determine who may be responsible for paying those damages.
Multiple parties may be liable in a failure-to-diagnose case if they fail to meet the standard of care for their role. For physicians, this can be misinterpreting symptoms or test results, failing to follow proper procedures, or being generally negligent. Similarly, nurses who do not report symptoms to doctors or incorrectly administer doctors’ treatments can be liable.
You could also sue people and entities involved in testing, such as radiologists or labs. Radiologists interpret various imaging reports, such as X-rays, MRIs, or CT scans, while labs run and interpret diagnostic testing, such as bloodwork. If an individual or institution makes mistakes when administering tests or reading results, they can face liability.
Pharmacists may also be liable for packaging the wrong medication or misadvising patients regarding their diagnoses or medication. Finally, entire Tulsa institutions can often be the subject of failure-to-diagnose lawsuits. If hospitals or medical institutions provide poor staffing, training, or protocols that contribute to a failed diagnosis, they could end up paying damages.
A medical expert’s opinion is the most important evidence in failure-to-diagnose cases. A Tulsa attorney may use one as the key witness to explain the standard of care, a crucial element in winning a failure-to-diagnose lawsuit.
Medical experts help judges and juries understand the relationship between medical facts and legal concepts. They clarify what the health care provider did versus what industry standards required them to do.
Experts can explain the diagnosis process and show how the provider’s failure to follow those steps directly caused your injuries. Compelling medical expert testimony that is likely to appeal to a jury can often lead insurance companies to settle rather than risk losing more money at trial, but a medical expert can prove invaluable if a failure-to-diagnose case does proceed to trial. Defendants will hire their own medical experts to justify providers’ decisions, which means your attorney must explain why the jury should not trust their opinions.
A Tulsa failure-to-diagnose lawyer needs experience, knowledge, and tenacity; after all, they are dealing with complicated medical records, multiple studies, and conflicting expert opinions. Our LaCourse Law team believes in justice for our clients, and we work tirelessly to achieve the best possible results. We commit to becoming your partner if we take on your case.
We are here to support your legal needs and help you rebuild your life after an injury. Experience the difference. Call our offices today to schedule a free consultation.
(918) 744-7100 