Are You the Victim of Catastrophic Healthcare Errors?

If a physician does not accurately diagnose a health problem and a person's condition gets worse as a result, then this person may have the option of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. There are several elements that have to be established in order to win a medical malpractice case.

The existence of the doctor-patient relationship is the first thing that has to be established. This is usually very easy to establish. In fact, the doctor-patient relationship can be established without the use of medical bills or medical records.

The physician's negligence in failing to properly diagnose the patient's condition. Additionally, one has to be able to prove that harm resulted because of the physician's negligence in making the diagnosis. Most misdiagnosis cases will focus on the physician's inability to diagnose the patient properly and whether it can be classified as medical negligence. It is important to note that a doctor will not automatically be classified as being negligent just because he or she did not diagnose a harmful health issue at the time.

Another key question that arises is whether the physician failed to act with the competence that a reasonably-skilled doctor would have shown under those circumstances. In other words, there are mistakes that any physician can make while making a diagnosis. However, there are also unreasonable errors that can be made during a diagnosis. There are medical conditions that any competent doctor should be able to identify. It is likely that these errors would form the basis of a medical malpractice claim.