Medical Malpractice Lawyer

We want to trust that doctors have our best interest in mind at all times, however, there may be instances when we should second guess what we’re being told. Of course, we should never avoid getting the medical treatment that we need, but sometimes doctors make mistakes. A doctor may commit an oversight, diagnose a patient incorrectly, diagnose a patient too late, make a surgical mistake, prescribe the wrong medication type or dosage, or something else related to the patient’s care. If you find that any of the information below is true for your situation, then you may want to get a second opinion from another doctor, because medical malpractice may be happening to you:

You were diagnosed without basic medical tests.

Your doctor should have first had you do some basic medical diagnostics prior to giving you an official diagnosis. Examples of common tests include blood tests, urine samples, allergy testing, and biopsies. A diagnosis should come after these tests, and not vice versa. Your doctor should have all the information they need about your health before concluding that you have a certain condition or illness. 

Your symptoms don’t match up with the diagnosis.

Misdiagnoses are among the most common forms of medical malpractice. So if your symptoms don’t quite match up with the diagnosis you received, then it may be cause for alarm. It is possible that you were misdiagnosed with the wrong condition, and then may receive the wrong medical treatment too. Ask your doctor if there is a reason why some symptoms don’t match your diagnosis. If something doesn’t feel right, there is no harm in getting a second or third opinion from several doctors before deciding on what to do next. 

Your health has taken a turn for the worse despite treatment.

It is important to note that some conditions, such as terminal cancer, may only be provided as means to reduce pain and discomfort and not necessarily to reverse its progression. But, if you were diagnosed with a condition that isn’t terminal and your treatment is not working (or even making you feel worse), then it could elude to medical malpractice. It will be imperative to the health of the patient to request another opinion from a different doctor at another facility entirely. Deteriorating health despite abiding by all prescribed treatments is a red flag that something about the care plan or diagnosis is incorrect.

No one wants to imagine that their doctor has made a grave error, but as our medical malpractice lawyer friends from The Law Office of Daniel E. Stuart, P.A. also know, doctors commit more errors than people realize. Knowing the red flags can help a patient know when it’s time to get another doctor’s opinion.