You trust your doctor and other health care professionals to quickly and competently diagnose medical conditions you are suffering from, but that is not always what happens. A delayed diagnosis can prolong your pain, exacerbate your existing conditions, and cause life-threatening complications.
At Kaveny + Kroll, our attorneys routinely settle and litigate medical malpractice claims—our efforts are not just about all claims; they are about your claim. We analyze your medical treatment and identify how and why you were injured. An experienced Chicago delayed diagnosis lawyer will fight until you are compensated for the harm a medical professional’s negligence caused you.
What Is a Delayed Diagnosis?
Many people confuse a delayed diagnosis with a misdiagnosis because they are both examples of medical malpractice, but they are not the same. A misdiagnosis occurs when a physician incorrectly determines a patient’s condition.
A delayed diagnosis refers to the failure to identify a patient’s illness within a reasonable time. A delayed diagnosis can happen because:
- A doctor fails to order relevant lab work or other crucial tests
- Medical professionals do not recognize abnormalities in testing data or misread results
- A doctor does not take a patient’s complaints seriously, allowing their condition to worsen
- Hospitals or physicians’ offices have inadequate staff, and the evaluation of diagnostic tests are too fast, overlooking the true medical causes
- Communication between the lab and the physician is poor, delaying the diagnosis
A delayed diagnosis can lead to worsening health, leaving the patient in pain, requiring more aggressive treatment, and increasing treatment costs. In some cases, the delay allows the disease to progress to the point where recovery is no longer possible.
If your medical team delayed a diagnosis and your condition deteriorated as a result, our knowledgeable Chicago injury lawyers can fight to recover compensation on your behalf.
Proving Negligence Related to a Delayed Diagnosis
A medical malpractice claim is based on the negligence of the physician who delayed a diagnosis and harmed you. Our lawyers will work to prove that you maintained a doctor–patient relationship and depended on your physician to diagnose and treat you promptly.
Due to the delay in getting the correct diagnosis, you were harmed and suffered losses. Your harm can be physical because your condition worsened, financial because you are losing work and your wages, or emotional from learning that the delay worsened your condition.
Our Chicago delayed diagnosis attorneys understand your frustration and anxiety waiting for a diagnosis and then suffering an injury as a result. By discussing your situation with us, we can help develop a compensation plan for you.
Compensation for Delayed Diagnosis Claims
If a health care professional acts below the standards they should adhere to, you can be compensated for the damage they inflicted on you. Damages can be economic and non-economic. Economic damages can be calculated, such as the money you must spend on medical care to treat injuries caused by a delayed diagnosis or the wages you lost while recuperating.
Non-economic damages are subjective and assign a monetary value to more elusive but very real losses, such as your pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. A delayed diagnosis lawyer in Chicago can calculate your losses and present solid evidence to win compensation for you and your family.
Speak With a Delayed Diagnosis Attorney in Chicago Today
The medical community is reluctant to criticize one of its own, and pursuing a medical malpractice lawsuit by yourself is next to impossible. Our attorneys will conduct a thorough review of your medical records and discuss your case with health care professionals as needed.
We can negotiate with insurance companies to secure a fair settlement on your behalf. However, if the offer is too low, we can take your case to trial to convince a jury to award you maximum compensation. For exemplary representation backed by 65-plus years of experience, contact a Chicago delayed diagnosis lawyer at Kaveny + Kroll today.