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As a Memphis, Tennessee medical malpractice lawyer with the ability for members of our team to also investigate claims in Mississippi, Arkansas, and Kentucky, we thought it beneficial to discuss misdiagnosis of medical care and how this can affect the patient.
When a patient is treated by a doctor, the patient trusts the doctor will correctly diagnose the patient. When there is a failure to diagnosis, patients can be harmed. In certain circumstances, the standard of care requires a doctor or other health care provider to treat a patient differently. When this occurs, there can be a claim for misdiagnosis under Tennessee law.
Tennessee Medical Malpractice Lawyer: Misdiagnosis Claim
A 35-year-old Tennessee man has been awarded $300,000 in damages following a medical malpractice misdiagnosis claim. According to the medical malpractice lawsuit filed in a district court, the doctors removed the plaintiff’s gallbladder following wrong diagnosis of gallstones as tumor. The radiologist was found guilty of misdiagnosis while the surgeon was held responsible by the court for surgical intervention without checking into the veracity of reports.
In 2009, a Shelby County court had awarded $24 million in response to a Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit filed by a woman claiming breast cancer misdiagnosis. The plaintiff went to a Memphis hospital following a lump in her breast. The doctor mistook the cancerous tumor on her breast as a cyst and failed to refer her for a mammogram test. The lump evolved into cancer that spread to her liver and other body parts due to lack of on-time diagnosis and treatment.
When the plaintiff was referred for ultrasound and mammogram by another doctor in the hospital, medical reports disclosed that she was suffering from breast cancer. She was immediately treated with regular chemotherapy and radiation therapy. In addition to lumpectomy, her uterus was also removed so that pregnancy did not result in any secondary health complications.
The Tennessee misdiagnosis lawsuit held the doctor responsible for the late diagnosis that led the plaintiff to suffer from multiple physical injuries and emotional trauma.
Tennessee Medical Malpractice: What Is Misdiagnosis?
According to the state law and opinion of the experts, the following instances of misdiagnosis are considered fit for filing of Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuits.
- Failure to diagnosis
- Mistaken identification of disease
- Failure to recognize an existing disorder
- Pathological report/ doctor declaring people healthy despite health problems
- Delay in indentifying a disorder
- Error in diagnosis despite correct test reports
- Failure to foresee a disease linked to existing health problem
- Delay in prescribing tests
Tennessee Medical Malpractice: The Statute of Limitations
The State of Tennessee put forth three types of time limit for any type medical malpractice misdiagnosis lawsuit in Tennessee.
- A claimant has one-year time from the date of injury to file a misdiagnosis lawsuit.
- Plaintiffs can file a medical malpractice lawsuit within a year of discovery of an injury, not discernible at time of treatment. (future injuries/side effects)
- But in no way can a case for medical malpractice, including for a child, be filed more than three years after the procedure occurs, unless the injury is caused by a foreign object left by surgeons inside the patient’s body
Expert Testimony Vital to Seek Compensation
A plaintiff filing a Tennessee medical malpractice lawsuit for misdiagnosis is required to collect and present documents certified by an expert witness that knows the standard of care in the Defendant’s community or a similar community. The expert must also be from Tennessee or a contiguous state to Tennessee. Without expert testimony, a claim cannot proceed. A qualified expert must opine before your case is filed that the case is worthy of proceeding ahead.
If you or a loved one in Tennessee, Arkansas or Kentucky believes you are the victim of medical malpractice and have sustained an injury to yourself or your child, infant, parent or loved one, please contact us today.