Failure to Diagnose

Rochester Medical Malpractice Lawyers, Serving Buffalo & Beyond

The proper, timely diagnosis of a medical condition, illness, or injury is a critical component of proper medical care. When a doctor negligently fails to diagnose a condition, it can lead to delays in treatment or total lack of treatment, in turn leading to further complications, injuries, and, in some cases, death.

In some cases, failure to diagnose constitutes medical malpractice. However, one must prove that the doctor failed to uphold the standard of care, meaning he or she did not provide a diagnosis that another qualified medical provider would have, given the same information and set of circumstances. This can be very difficult to prove and, like other types of medical malpractice claims, failure to diagnose cases are often extremely complex.

If you or a loved one suffered injuries, illness, or complications as a result of a medical professional’s failure to diagnose a disease or medical condition, we encourage you to reach out to Faraci Lange, LLP to speak to one of our award-winning Buffalo medical malpractice attorneys. With a reputation for aggressive advocacy and winning results, we are one of the most trusted personal injury law firms in the Rochester area.

Contact Faraci Lange, LLP online or call our office at (888) 997-4110 for a free, confidential consultation. 

Proving Medical Negligence in Failure to Diagnose Cases

As previously mentioned, doctors and other health care providers are not always legally liable for failing to diagnose a condition. For example, if a doctor examines a patient’s symptoms, orders laboratory tests, analyzes the results of that test, and still is unable to diagnose a patient’s rare condition and so refers the patient to a specialist, that doctor has provided the patient with an acceptable standard of care. In this example, the doctor has done everything that any other qualified doctor would have done in an attempt to provide a diagnosis. Just because the doctor was not able to provide a diagnosis does not mean she is liable.

However, if a doctor fails to provide the standard of care, negligently failing to diagnose a patient, this could be grounds for a claim.

In order to prove medical negligence in a failure to diagnose case, one must prove the following elements:

• A doctor-patient relationship existed
• The doctor was negligent
• As a result of the doctor’s negligence, the patient suffered damages

Establishing the existence of a doctor-patient establishes that the doctor owed a duty of care to the patient. To prove that a doctor was negligent, one will need to show that they did not uphold the standard of care; for example, the doctor didn’t analyze all of the patient’s symptoms, didn’t order tests, incorrectly analyzed test results, failed to refer the patient to a specialist, etc. Lastly, one can only bring a claim for medical malpractice if he or she can establish causation, meaning the doctor’s negligence was the proximate cause of the patient’s injuries, worsened condition, financial losses, and pain and suffering.

Contact Faraci Lange, LLP for a Free Consultation

Failure to diagnose cancer and other illnesses/conditions can come with serious consequences. If you believe you or a loved one did not receive an adequate level of medical care, reach out to Faraci Lange, LLP to discuss your potential case with one of our experienced failure to diagnose lawyers in Rochester.

Schedule a free initial consultation when you call (888) 997-4110. You can also contact us online using our free case evaluation form.