Doctors find themselves in a unique position in our society. Any person with any sort of medial issue consults a doctor to find the solution to the problem. The level of trust and responsibility placed on the shoulders of a doctor requires him to conform to a certain standard of care and diligence. However, doctors, like the rest of us, are at the end of the day merely humans and are bound to make erroneous judgments.
If a patient has been wrongly diagnosed or has not been diagnosed in a timely manner, the patient may suffer harm or injury due to the delay or misdiagnosis. This, in turn, may lead to the doctor being held negligent. Generally, doctors provide a list of probable causes of the illness, and this is known as a “differential diagnosis.” The standard of care is a key factor in assessing malpractice. If the doctor did not conform to the standards expected of a reasonable, prudent doctor while giving out the diagnosis, then a doctor may be held liable for malpractice. However, proving malpractice for misdiagnosis is not easy. If a doctor does not diagnose a patient with a particular illness, and that illness later develops in the patient, it will be hard to hold the doctor liable in such a circumstance.
A doctor may also be held liable where he treats a patient for an illness the patient is not actually suffering from, resulting in harm. Furthermore, doctors may also be held liable for malpractice where they completely dismiss the probability of a patient suffering from an illness, which he, in fact, suffers from.
If you feel that your illness or injury has worsened due to the incompetence of your doctor, you might want to consider consulting a medical malpractice attorney near you, as he will be in a better position to advise you regarding your case.
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