New York Medical Misdiagnosis Lawyer

For a patient and his or her family, the misdiagnosis of a serious condition can be a life-changing event.

The failure to diagnose a serious medical condition or an incorrect medical diagnosis can constitute medical negligence and form the basis of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

In some circumstances, timing is a crucial part of a diagnosis. For example, failing to identify certain cancers in time can decrease a patient’s chances of survival.

When The Wrong Diagnosis Impacts Your Family

If a physician failed to correctly diagnose a medical condition that affected you or a family member, talk to us. At the Jacob Fuchsberg Law Firm, our attorneys have been handling medical malpractice claims for decades. We can assist you if your circumstances involve:

• Errors involving radiology or imaging
• Incorrect reading of test results or the failure to order the correct test
• Surgical mistakes
• Emergency room negligence
• Misdiagnosed stroke or embolism
• Misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of an eye injury
• Wrongful death
• A birth injury attributed to misdiagnosis of a fetal or maternal condition

What To Do If You Have Been Misdiagnosed

While feelings of dizziness and nausea are often associated with the flu, they may also be signs of an imminent heart attack—and we trust our doctors to know the difference. Sadly, however, the truth is that doctors often get it wrong when it comes to the diagnosis of a wide variety of serious medical conditions, including heart attacks and several forms of cancer, just to name a few. Being misdiagnosed may be a form of medical malpractice.

In fact, a recent report issued by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) concluded that most medical patients in the U.S. will suffer at least one diagnostic error during their lives. Even though the report acknowledged there may be many contributing factors to this alarming trend, it identified four reasons in particular, including:

• A culture within the healthcare system that discourages transparency and disclosure of diagnosis errors, which makes it nearly impossible to rectify or learn from past mistakes
• Insufficient/limited feedback for doctors regarding their past diagnostic performance
• Inadequate communication and collaboration among doctors, medical staff, patients, and their families
• A complex healthcare system that is not well designed to support the diagnosis process

While minor misdiagnoses may have little impact, others—including those involving cancer—can have deadly consequences. Indeed, the recent IOM report noted that roughly 10 percent of patient deaths are linked to diagnosis errors, according to its review of several decades of postmortem research.

Failure To Diagnose

In the unfortunate event, you were misdiagnosed, there are many steps you can take to help get the treatment you need, including:

• Request that your doctor follow up with any abnormal test results
• Track your symptoms, including when they occur and their severity
• Ask your doctor how long your current form of treatment or medication should take to work, and then seek help if it doesn’t work by then
• Seek a second opinion

If a doctor’s mistake has injured you or a loved one, it is often best to seek legal guidance as soon as possible in order to ensure your rights are protected.

Contact Our New York Medical Misdiagnosis Lawyers

Our misdiagnosis attorneys handle failure to diagnose and incorrect diagnosis cases in New York City and all of New York State, Connecticut, and New Jersey. Contact us to schedule your free consultation to discuss your concerns by calling 212.869.3500. We charge no fees until we recover compensation for your family.

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