Misdiagnosis in the Bronx: Understanding Your Rights in New York
The first thing to emphasize is that medicine is not an exact science, and that is why it is said that the doctor’s activity, as a rule, consists of an obligation of means and not of result. Learn things like Can I Sue for Misdiagnosis in New York, to know more.
Diagnosis is the clinical framework based on the physician’s subjective ability to interpret the patient’s health conditions according to the evidence collected during the preliminary examination. Diagnostic errors are almost always the result of poorly carried out investigations, almost always marked by the inadequacy of the means used or by negligence on the part of the investigator.
Therefore, for the diagnostic error to assume the characteristics of punishable guilt, it must depend on neglecting the common standards of semiology or the lack of elementary knowledge of pathology and clinical practice.
When Can You File A Misdiagnosis Lawsuit?
The diagnostic error occurs when the professional acts recklessly, negligently, or with malpractice in evaluating the case, causing harm to the patient.
The diagnostic error can be based on 3 types of fault, namely :
Recklessness — when the professional acts without due care, in a hurry, without thinking about the risks involved in his act;
Negligence — when the professional fails to take necessary actions in treatment or acts carelessly, without giving due attention that the case requires;
Malpractice — when the doctor does not have technical mastery over the case involved.
Thus, if one or more of these illegal acts leads to moral or physical harm to the patient, it is possible to file a lawsuit requesting compensation.
How To Prove That There Was A Diagnostic Error?
This is perhaps one of the main doubts of patients or family members who believe a diagnostic error may have occurred. Remember that not every undesired result is, effectively, a medical error, and, therefore, before thinking about filing a claim for compensation for medical malpractice, it is necessary to verify whether there is evidence of a failure liable to liability.
Many non-specialized lawyers file lawsuits asking for high amounts of compensation without carrying out a correct prior analysis, and this can cause great losses to their clients, making the legal process a big “lottery.”
To prove a diagnostic error, it is necessary to perform a technical analysis of the patient’s medical record, medical records, exams, and other documents related to the treatment to identify whether there were failures that are inconsistent with good medical practice in the light of legislation, clinical protocols, the Code of Medical Ethics, etc.
For this, having the support of a lawyer specializing in medical malpractice such as Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm for example helps a lot in this process of gathering evidence. In our office, we have the technical support of a specialized medical team capable of preliminary analysis of the medical documentation and defining the feasibility of filing or not a claim for compensation for misdiagnosis.
