Imagine going to the doctor because your leg has been hurting more than normal lately. You always knew you had problems with your joints, and you had a history of arthritis. You make it clear that you feel this pain is different and that you haven’t been feeling very well lately. Your doctor assumes it’s still arthritis and puts you on a new medication.
Unfortunately, the pain continues, and you soon find out you have Stage 3 cancer. You had to go to a different doctor to find out, and now you’re facing chemotherapy and surgeries to try to save your life. You may have caught the cancer sooner if your doctor had ordered the correct tests early on.
Do you have a claim against your doctor? You could. It’s important for medical providers to follow through when you complain of an ailment. A simple blood test sometimes identifies cancer, while other times an X-ray, MRI or CAT scan is all that’s needed to double check and make sure you’re not suffering from a potentially dangerous condition.
If you want to win a case, you need to show that other doctors would have run the tests you didn’t receive given the same information. You can show you’ve suffered because of the mistake and that you will face the financial impact of your condition more so now than if you’d caught it sooner.
Your attorney can help you with your case, so you can decide if your doctor was negligent and if your case has a chance of winning in court. Our website has more on medical malpractice and what to expect when you file a lawsuit.