Medical Misdiagnosis

Medical misdiagnosis refers to a situation where a doctor or other health care professional wrongly diagnoses an individual with a certain illness, disease or condition. Medical misdiagnosis is dangerous, as it can lead to the incorrect treatment being prescribed, the treatment being delayed, or treatment not being provided at all when it is required to treat someone’s condition.

For example, a person may have a biopsy taken of a suspicious mole, and the acting pathologist may fail to diagnose the sample as cancerous. This could lead to the individual not receiving the necessary treatment for skin cancer.

The most common types of medical misdiagnosis claims may consist of:

• A person having a medical condition misdiagnosed
• A person’s medical condition being delayed in its diagnosis (for example after a diagnostic test such as a blood test, breast cancer screening or pap smear)
• A misdiagnosis of cancer (such as pancreatic cancer, breast cancer, lung cancer, bowel cancer, or colorectal cancer)

Not all cases of misdiagnosis are cases of medical negligence. Medical negligence is the element that has to be proven for a valid misdiagnosis claim to be present. It has to be taken into account that even the best and most professional doctors can and do make errors when diagnosing their patients.

To be eligible to make a misdiagnosis claim (and for compensation to be paid to you), your medical misdiagnosis lawyers must have clear evidence that:

• A similarly trained doctor or health care professional would not have made the same mistake and;
• Harm or injury has occurred to you as a result of the misdiagnosis.

When you seek medical treatment, medical professionals have a duty of care when it comes to examining, diagnosing, treating and advising you on the best course of action. In medical misdiagnosis claims, you may be able to claim compensation if you have suffered from harm as a result of a health care professional’s mistake.

You can make a medical misdiagnosis claim when:

• There has been a failure to diagnose of misdiagnosis of your condition
• The misdiagnosis makes an existing condition worse
• There was failure to provide you with the proper referral or treatment
• There was a delay in your medical diagnosis
• You were not provided with post-operative care using reasonable care and skill
• Your test results were incorrectly reported on

The amount of compensation you receive as a result of your medical misdiagnosis claim will depend on the harm, suffering and/or loss that you have experienced as a result of the medical negligence.

Your medical misdiagnosis lawyer can construct a case where you claim for:

• Loss of enjoyment of life/pain and suffering damages
• Lost income both past and future
• Care provided by friends and family
• Modification expenses for your home and vehicle
• Past and future medical expenses
• Paid help such as in-home nurses, cleaners etc.

The process for medical misdiagnosis claims can be complex, so it’s best to seek legal support as soon as possible to guide you through the journey to receiving the best level of cancer misdiagnosis compensation amounts. The experienced and professional medical misdiagnosis lawyers at Garling & Co are here to help you through this difficult and stressful time.

Being incorrectly diagnosed by a medical professional is an extremely traumatic experience to go through, especially when your health has been put at risk or damaged because of it. We’re here to provide you with the best possible legal advice for a positive outcome.

Here is a brief explanation of the legal process followed by the medical misdiagnosis lawyers at Garling & Co.

1. You get in contact with Garling & Co
2. We have an initial consultation and assess whether you have a case
3. We draft and lodge initial documents
4. We build your case, collecting supporting information
5. Settlement negotiations occur with relevant parties
6. If a settlement can be reached, then the case concludes
7. If a settlement cannot be reached, we take your case to court

In order to make a medical misdiagnosis claim, you’ll need to get in contact with the medical negligence lawyers at Garling & Co as soon as possible to ensure we can lodge your claim for you within the strict time limits.

Our expert medical misdiagnosis lawyers will be able to professionally assess your situation and advise you on whether you have a medical misdiagnosis claim or not. We can also seek the opinion of independent medical experts, after which we will represent you on your behalf at court, mediation sessions and settlement hearings.

There are strict time limits when it comes to medical misdiagnosis claims. In NSW there is a 3-year time limit from when you knew or ought to have know you have an injury from a medical misdiagnosis.

As soon as you become aware of the fact you may have been medically misdiagnosed, get in touch with our experienced and professional medical misdiagnosis lawyers at Garling & Co who will be able to assess your situation and see if you have a medical misdiagnosis claim.

Garling & Co Lawyers are one of NSW’s leading work-related injury law firms and have lawyers who are experienced in acting on behalf of injured labourers and tradesmen. We have a 98% success rate and will assist you through the whole claims process.