Delayed Diagnosis Lawyer in St. Louis

When you or someone you care for has become severely sick or further injured because of a wrongly delayed diagnoses because of the negligence of a doctor, this is known as medical malpractice. Doctors and Medical Professionals receive specialized training that allows them to make the correct decisions when determining diagnoses, but often, either through negligence or ignorance a delayed diagnoses, can make a medical situation more severe and life-threatening. Because of their negligence, you or someone you care for is now suffering from worsened health problems because of a delayed diagnoses.

Dealing with a legal issue as complex as a delayed diagnoses can be intimidating when you aren’t aware of the laws and statutes surrounding a delayed diagnoses claim. To ensure that you or your loved one receives the level of legal care and guidance that you deserve, you need a delayed diagnoses lawsuit lawyer. The St. Louis Delayed Diagnoses Lawsuit Lawyers of Dixon Law are prepared to fight on your behalf to ensure that you and your loved ones get the justice and recovery that you deserve for your delayed diagnoses.

When we get sick or injured, we trust in doctors because we believe what they tell us about or ailments. We believe that through their years of study and practice, that they will know best how to treat our illnesses and that they will have our best interests in mind when it comes to the proper medical care for our illnesses. When a doctor’s training is complete, they must take an oath known as the Hippocratic Oath, in which they state that they will prescribe only beneficial treatments according to their abilities and judgments, that they will refrain from causing harm or hurt, and that they will live an exemplary personal and professional life. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.

When you or someone you care for has been further injured or their health has declined because of a delayed diagnoses, you deserve to be compensated for your injuries. No delayed diagnoses claim should ever go unchallenged, and our St. Louis delayed diagnoses lawsuit lawyers are prepared to fight on behalf of you or your loved one. We understand how families needlessly suffer because of injuries of health issues resulting from a delayed diagnoses, and we are dedicated to ensuring that you or your loved one are properly cared for throughout the delayed diagnoses lawsuit claim.

The Question is Negligence

Doctors are not liable for every little mistake. They are professionals with tough jobs and they have to make judgment calls. A doctor must, however, meet a reasonable standard of care. In other words, the doctor must act the way a competent doctor should have acted under the circumstances. For example, if a patient comes in for a routine physical and the doctor conducts the routine tests and fails to detect a small tumor in the patient’s lungs, that doctor probably was not negligent. It is not reasonable to expect a doctor to do a full-body cancer scan at every routine checkup.

On the other hand, a doctor might be negligent if a patient comes in with a terrible cough that has been going on for weeks and the doctor fails to conduct any tests and simply sends the patient home assuming it was a common cold. A reasonable doctor in those circumstances would probably conduct some tests to see if the patient had a serious disease like bronchitis and if that is not the cause a more conclusive cancer screening might be warranted.

Proving The Standard of Care

In order to prove a doctor is liable for a failure to diagnose medical conditions, a victim has to show the standard of care that the doctor should have been expected to live up to. This is generally done by hiring a similar doctor as an expert witness. That expert-witness doctor will review the situation in the case and explain what a competent doctor should have done in those circumstances. Typically, the other side will also bring their own expert witness that will quibble with the standard. The judge or jury will then have to decide what the standard of care was and if the doctor lived up to it.

Our St. Louis Delayed Diagnoses Attorneys are standing by 24 hours a day, 7 days a week by calling (314) 208-2808.

How Do Delayed Diagnoses Happen?

When we are sick or injured, we rely on the advice and counseling of medical professionals. If they make the wrong diagnoses or fail to make diagnoses that they should have, this can lead to a delay in the diagnoses of the actual issue. This is why it is called a delayed diagnosis. But why do doctors sometimes not make diagnoses in a timely manner? What are the causes of this action? Our attorneys who have successfully litigated delayed diagnoses cases before citing these facts as some of the leading reasons for a delayed diagnosis:

  • Medical Chart Errors – When medical statistics regarding your ailment or injury are wrongly recorded, this can further delay a current diagnosis for your ailment. It is important for doctors to get correct readings for your diagnoses as quickly and efficiently as possible.
  • Ordering of Wrong Tests – If the incorrect tests are ordered for your ailment, it will take time for the correct ones to be reordered. Because of the backlogs of requests for medical tests and other medical uses, this can increase the time that it takes for you to receive a correct diagnoses.
  • Failure to Refer to Qualified Specialist – If a doctor cannot diagnose your illness through their field of specialty, they are supposed to refer you to another specialist. If they do not, and continue you to treat you even though they don’t have the knowledge to, this is a negligent act that can lead to a delayed diagnosis.
  • Loss of Paperwork – This can unfortunately happen. Hospitals and doctors offices can be hectic areas. If your diagnoses is delayed because of lost paperwork, you can potentially hold the clinic or hospital liable for this negligent action.
  • Misreading of Test Results – When a physician incorrectly reads an x-ray or a medical chart, and diagnoses you for an issue that you do not have, this can lead to severe and possibly even deadly consequences for your health. Not only with this lead to other medical complications, but will also lead to a delayed diagnoses.

If you believe that your illness or ailment became worse because of a delayed diagnoses that was a result of a doctor’s or physicians negligence, you may be able to receive legal compensation for the delayed diagnoses. When you are sick, a doctor must take your needs seriously, and when they don’t, it can lead to serious health consequences for you or someone you love that requires their timely advice or counseling for medical issues. If you’ve suffered because of a delayed diagnoses, please speak with our experienced delayed diagnoses attorneys immediately.

Why should you choose the St. Louis Delayed Diagnoses Lawsuit Attorneys of Dixon Law to Represent your Delayed Diagnosis Claim?

The time allowed under Missouri law to file a delayed diagnoses lawsuit is limited. Generally a delayed diagnoses case must be filed within two years of the date of occurrence. If the delayed diagnoses claim involves a foreign object that was left in the body, the suit must be filed within two years of when the object was discovered.

If a loved one dies as a result of the delayed diagnoses, Missouri law requires that the wrongful death lawsuit is filed within three years of the death.

Within 90 days of filing a delayed diagnoses lawsuit in Missouri, the plaintiff must file an expert affidavit stating that a written opinion has been obtained from a legally qualified healthcare provider regarding the defendant’s negligence. The expert must conclude that the defendant failed to use such care as a reasonably prudent and careful healthcare provider would have under similar circumstances and that such failure to use such reasonable care directly caused or directly contributed to cause the damages claimed in the petition (RSMo. Section 538.225 [2009]).

Compensation available in delayed diagnoses lawsuits is often divided into compensatory damages and punitive damages. Compensatory damages typically cover such items as past and future medical expenses, lost income and pain and suffering. Punitive damages are awarded in cases in which the defendant’s conduct is considered willful, wanton or malicious.

We offer free consultations to all delayed diagnoses victims and the families of those wrongfully killed due to a delayed diagnosis. To discuss your case, contact Chris Dixon and the St. Louis Delayed Diagnoses Attorneys of Dixon Law as soon possible to prevent evidence from being lost or destroyed.

Possible Damages

There are a wide range of damages available to a patient in a medical malpractice case. First there is economic damages, such as medical fees, lost wages from missing work, and rehabilitation costs. Patients may also be able to collect noneconomic damages meant to compensate for things like pain, suffering, mental anguish, physical impairment, disfigurement, loss of capacity to enjoy life, and loss of consortium (spousal relations). Missouri Statutes Section 538.210 limits these damages by saying that in a lawsuit against a health care provider any non-economic damages are capped at about $400,000 for “non catastrophic” injuries and $700,000 for “catastrophic” injuries (those caps increase over time with inflation).

The Dixon Injury Firm
9666 Olive Blvd #202,
St. Louis, MO 63132
Phone:(314) 208-2808