Delayed Diagnosis Claims

Early diagnosis is vital in treating a medical complaint. Unfortunately, it can and does happen that a medical professional sometimes gets it wrong and consequently there is a delay in identifying the exact problem. This late discovery of the underlying medical problem can cause further issues for the patient. Ideally this should not happen, but it does. Delayed diagnoses can result in medical negligence in circumstances where the healthcare provider failed to meet the standard of care expected which then prevented or slowed down an opportunity to deal with a resulting medical problem.

When a doctor is examining a patient, where the diagnosis is not obvious, they will use X-rays, scans, ultrasounds, and other medical aids to give them more information of the matter complained of. From these measures, combined with information from the patient, the medical professionals will form an opinion or diagnosis.

While the matter is under investigation, the patient may be given some medication to alleviate their suffering. If the patient’s medical condition has not been correctly identified, these interim treatments could possibly aggravate the underlying condition they have.

In serious cases, such as cancer, a late diagnosis can lead to an irreversible outcome for the patient. Early detection is very important to certain cancers like breast, lung, colorectal cancer etc. The cancer can progress to a more advanced stage reducing a survival rate. The same could be said for heart disease which is evidently common.

To determine the causes of a late or delayed diagnosis, your solicitor will seek the medical records from the hospital  to see if the correct procedure was followed when the patient first presented themselves to their care. They will seek, for example, X-rays taken and obtain their own expert medical witness to see if the X-rays, scans etc were correctly interpreted. They will see what action was taken following the results of these tests. They will examine what, if any, medication was administered to the patient.

It is important to note not all delayed diagnoses are considered medical negligence. There is a standard of care which the healthcare provider must have failed to meet and this failure then resulted in the harm to the person. Medical professionals must exercise reasonable diligence when treated patients. If a test is done, there must be follow up for example and systems in place. Evaluating symptoms is also very important and assessing medical history.

Some common causes of delayed diagnosis are – inadequate communication, miscommunication, overburdened health systems, misinterpretation of medical tests, or appropriate tests not being sought etc.

One important question when assessing negligence is was the result foreseeable in terms of what transpired factually up to the point of harm.  A delayed diagnoses can have terrible consequences for a person. Medical professionals have a duty and standard of care which must be adhered to and is in the vast majority of circumstances. There are however circumstances when this does not arise. If you have any questions about such a circumstance we can assist.