When Your Doctor Ignores or Misdiagnoses a Serious Condition
Experienced medical malpractice attorneys protect the rights of West Virginians harmed by missed or incorrect diagnoses
When you visit a doctor’s office with a specific complaint, the doctor’s attention is usually focused on that medical condition. But if, during an examination for a complaint of, say, tonsillitis, the doctor ignores a tumor growing in the back of your throat, you may have a claim of malpractice. The treatment of the patient as a whole person, and not simply as “a case,” is the hallmark of sound medical practice. When a practitioner unreasonably fails in this, and misses or misdiagnoses an otherwise obvious health problem, they breach their duty of care.
Paulson & Nace, PLLC is a family-owned and managed firm of West Virginia medical malpractice lawyers. We are highly regarded throughout the state for defending the rights of patients to receive competent medical care from those licensed to give it. We have successfully pursued cases in which unreasonably missed or incorrect diagnoses caused life-threatening conditions to advance and have obtained compensation for the victims’ broader or continuing care and related expenses. Our firm is well-known and highly regarded throughout the state.
Commonly misdiagnosed medical conditions
Doctors spend four years in medical school, two of them in clinical training, a year or two of internship, several years of residency in their specialties, and additional time in private practice or on a hospital staff. You might understandably wonder why some cannot diagnose an illness correctly every time. It does happen, though, and all too frequently.
Suppose a doctor misidentifies your condition, orders the wrong test, obtains a negative report and, as a consequence, fails to treat you. If your condition worsens because of that error, he or she has committed an act of negligence for which you may be able to receive compensation. Some patients’ symptoms may be baffling, but competent doctors eventually get to the bottom of them and work toward proper treatment. Our West Virginia lawyers have extensive experience handling cases against doctors who act negligently or incompetently, including:
- Failure to diagnose cancers, such as breast cancer, prostate cancer, lung cancer, lymphoma, melanoma, and sarcomas.
- Failure to diagnose heart and other circulatory system problems, such as severe mitral valve prolapse or an imminent heart attack.
- Failure to diagnose and treat a stroke or aneurism, especially when swift, decisive intervention could have helped the patient avoid paralysis, loss of speech or vision, or death.
- Failure to diagnose infections, such as tetanus, sepsis, and Group B strep.
- Failure to diagnose and treat bleeding from internal injuries.
These are representative of the kinds of cases we have successfully resolved through jury trials and settlement negotiations that have won our clients just compensation for their injuries. Our team of West Virginia medical malpractice attorneys have a long history of obtaining impressive results.
Let Paulson & Nace be your family’s attorneys when a missed or incorrect diagnosis has harmed you in West Virginia
If you or a loved one was injured because of a hospital’s or medical professional’s failure to accurately diagnose and properly treat a health condition, let us be your advocate. Our distinguished family of West Virginia medical malpractice attorneys offers the compassionate, personal, and professional attention you deserve. We are widely recognized for both our comprehensive legal services and our aggressive advocacy for victims of missed or incorrect diagnosis. When you choose a medical malpractice lawyer from our practice to represent you, you are choosing a team that values families and family relationships. Please call 304-741-8079 or fill out our contact form to tell us your story in a no-obligation consultation. Our office is located at 3501 Maccorkle Ave SE, Charleston, WV 25304.
We have dedicated our lives to helping medical malpractice victims. Now, let our family help yours.