Phoenix Failure to Diagnose Attorney
When a doctor fails to diagnose a patient or misdiagnoses them, it prevents prompt treatment of their condition. This mistake can cause worsening of symptoms, advancing of their disease, and even death. If you or a loved received a wrong or no diagnosis, our Phoenix failure to diagnose lawyer can help you understand your rights and seek justice.
At Gallagher & Kennedy, we provide free consultations for medical malpractice victims and their families. If you believe your doctor made a mistake and failed to diagnose you, we can assess your case and discuss your options with you for free. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.
Our Medical Malpractice Team Represents Clients Hurt by Failure to Diagnose
At Gallagher & Kennedy, our Phoenix team represents clients hurt by careless and reckless mistakes physicians and other medical professionals made. We have experience handling high-profile cases and securing record-setting verdicts and settlements for our clients. We also help individuals who suffered harm because of their doctor’s medical negligence.
Regardless of the size of your case, our team believes in focusing on your needs. While we have the resources and experience to go toe-to-toe with the largest hospital corporations and pharmaceutical companies, we approach every case like it is the only one we have. Our recent malpractice settlements include $3 million for a victim of mismanaged medical care and several other seven-figure payouts.
When our team represents a victim of medical malpractice in Phoenix, our clients can count on us to:
- Protect their rights
- Ensure decision-makers hear their voice
- Investigate what happened
- Develop a strong case to support their allegations
- Pursue fair and just compensation to cover their expenses and losses
- Take on the liable parties regardless of their size or wealth
- Fight for justice in their case
- Answer questions as they arise
- Provide regular case updates
We represent our clients based on contingency fees. We do not ask clients to make upfront payments, such as a retainer or other fees. We only charge fees after securing a settlement or verdict in the case. This agreement allows you to keep more money in your pocket throughout this process and ensures we only receive attorney’s fees when we win your case. You can learn more during your free initial consultation with us.
Let Our Phoenix Failure to Diagnose Lawyers Seek Compensation for You
At Gallagher & Kennedy, we understand how failure to diagnose can cause serious injuries. When a doctor misses a diagnosis or gives someone the wrong diagnosis, the patient goes without treatment for longer than necessary. This delay can prove deadly when they have a serious medical emergency or emergent condition. For example, failure to diagnose a heart attack or stroke can lead to death within hours when immediate treatment could stop the damage.
Cancer is one of the most commonly missed diagnoses. When cancer goes undiagnosed, it can advance quickly. This can greatly affect the prognosis, the types of treatment necessary, and the pain and suffering of the patient. Delayed treatment also often costs more and is more intensive. The patient could miss more work and have additional lost income.
When our team pursues compensation for our clients in a failure to diagnose case, we seek money damages for a wide range of expenses and damages, such as:
- Medical care costs: This category includes the treatment of the condition and all related expenses.
- Income losses: When a patient has an advanced injury or illness because of a failure to diagnose, they will likely miss work and have income losses from any source, such as wages, tips, commissions, gig work, etc.
- Future expenses and losses: Future medical treatment costs, related expenses, and reduced ability to earn because of long-term effects of the condition may all be recoverable expenses. We can work with experts to estimate these damages.
- Miscellaneous expenses: Keep your receipts for any related expenses, and we can demand reimbursement. This includes parking, travel expenses, and money spent building a ramp at home for wheelchair access.
- Pain and suffering: Medical malpractice victims often suffer significant intangible losses because of their missed diagnosis, including both physical and psychological damages. Our attorneys know how to estimate a fair value for these damages.
- Scarring and disfigurement: Sometimes, your undiagnosed or misdiagnosed condition may cause disfigurement or permanent scarring. In that case, you may request awards to help you with mobility and dealing with resulting difficulties.
- Wrongful death damages: Victims sometimes die because of the failure to diagnose their condition promptly. In that event, their family can receive compensation to cover a range of losses and expenses, like funeral and burial costs, final medical care bills, and/or loss of financial support. Our team handles these cases and fights for justice for our clients.
What Are Punitive Damages in Medical Malpractice Cases?
Punitive damages are sometimes available in medical malpractice cases in usually the most egregious of situations. Careless or reckless behavior is insufficient to recover these damages under state law. Instead, we need to show the liable party acted with an “evil hand and evil mind,” according to state law.
In situations when the jury could award punitive damages, we generally sue the liable party and take the case to trial. Unlike many other states, Arizona does not cap punitive damages.
Understanding Phoenix Failure to Diagnose Cases
Not all mistakes doctors make rise to the level of medical malpractice. In difficult cases where most doctors could not make a diagnosis, it might be impossible to hold a doctor legally liable. However, doctors must follow certain protocols and uphold strict standards. When they do not, this failure constitutes medical negligence and could support a malpractice claim.
At Gallagher & Kennedy, our Phoenix failure to diagnose lawyer understands how failure to diagnose occurs and when it supports a medical malpractice claim. Physicians must follow certain protocols when they see a patient because of an unknown condition.
These steps include:
- Reviewing the patient’s health history
- Noting all reported symptoms and considering how they fit diagnostic criteria
- Conducting a physical exam and ordering necessary tests
- Managing the differential diagnosis, ruling out possible conditions one by one
- Referring the patient to someone with more experience or a specialist when necessary
Some of the most common ways doctors stray from these protocols include failing to order the appropriate tests, not listening to the patient’s symptoms or failing to review health history, misreading test results, and making assumptions about their condition.
Determining Liability in a Phoenix, AZ. Failure to Diagnose Case
At Gallagher & Kennedy, our medical malpractice attorneys know how to show that a doctor’s medical negligence led to your advancing injuries or illness. We understand how to navigate the medical malpractice claims process in Phoenix and the steps we have to take to hold the doctor or facility legally responsible.
The two primary elements in these cases include:
The Doctor Failed to Provide the Expected Degree of Care
Doctors and other medical care providers must provide a certain level of care based on their education, experience, skill, and other factors. They must act the same way other reasonable healthcare providers would with the same training and experience working in the same geographic area would. This obligation includes following the necessary protocols and procedures.
We can prove this element by having other doctors with similar experience review the case and determine if the physician provided an acceptable and expected degree of care.
The Failure Was the Cause of the Injuries
We need to tie the failure to diagnose with the advancement of your condition or worsening of injuries. We cannot hold the parties accountable if we cannot show you suffered harm because of a failure to diagnose. This task is easier in some cases than in others, but it often relies on your medical records, imaging scans, tests, and expert medical testimony.
Proving these two elements are present in your case usually relies on medical expert witnesses. We work with experts to learn how your doctor should have acted, what should have happened, and whether experts believe medical malpractice occurred.
Victims generally have two years to begin a lawsuit against the liable party or parties. However, there are additional steps necessary in these cases. You do not want to wait too long. It becomes more difficult to develop a strong case and recover fair compensation as time passes. We invite you to call our team as soon as possible, and let us go to work on your case.
Our Attorneys Can Build a Failure to Diagnose Medical Malpractice Case
The Phoenix medical malpractice attorneys at Gallagher & Kennedy know how to develop a strong case based on failure to diagnose. It can be difficult to gather evidence to show something did not occur, but we navigate this process regularly and can document what happened, who was involved, and how it caused you harm.
Our law firm works with a network of experts in and around Phoenix and nationwide. We can call in doctors and specialists who can help us determine what should have happened and what did occur when your doctor should have diagnosed your condition.
When you hire our team, you can count on us to handle all aspects of your medical malpractice failure to diagnose case, such as:
Taking the Necessary Steps to Understand Your Case
Our attorneys can discuss what happened to you in detail, learning your side of the story and ensuring we understand your objectives. We can assess the case and make a preliminary determination of the liable parties. What we conclude allows us to identify the best expert witnesses and enlist their help in documenting any malpractice.
Getting Expert Opinions to Support Our Allegations
Our attorneys obtain your relevant medical records and ask the expert or experts we identified to review them. We hire them to assess the case and provide their opinion about the care provided, whether there was a missed diagnosis, and if medical negligence occurred.
They usually provide us with an affidavit—a written summary of their findings provided under oath—and are often willing to testify at trial if necessary. In some cases, they provide information in a deposition, which is a sworn statement under oath.
Demanding Justice on Your Behalf
Our team gets justice for our clients by demanding fair compensation from the doctor, care provider, or facility that caused their injuries.
We generally secure compensation for our clients through:
- A settlement with the malpractice insurance provider
- A verdict from a jury trial
Navigating the Legal Process to Secure Compensation
You can count on our personal injury lawyers to fight for fair compensation and protect your rights throughout this process. We know the applicable laws and how this process works. We can meet all deadlines and submit the necessary documentation to show what happened and why you deserve compensation.
If necessary, we may sue the doctor, hospital, or another liable party. We are not afraid to take these cases to trial when necessary or if punitive damages might be available. We seek fair and just compensatory damages for our clients but also want to ensure they receive the maximum payout possible if they were the victim of egregious medical negligence.
Discuss Your Legal Options With Our Phoenix Failure to Diagnose Team Today
Phoenix Failure to Diagnose Attorney, Shannon L. Clark
If you or a loved one suffered preventable injuries or advancement of your condition because a doctor failed to diagnose your condition, we want to talk to you about your options. A financial recovery could be available to help you deal with your injuries, medical care, and other expenses and losses.
Contact Gallagher & Kennedy at (602) 530-8400 to learn more about your rights and the strategies we use to get justice in similar cases. Your case is our case, and our Phoenix failure to diagnose lawyer stands ready to serve you. Let us put our 210+ combined experience behind your case today.
Client Testimonial
“I wholeheartedly recommend Gallagher and Kennedy. I had the privilege of working with Shannon Clark and was impressed by his professionalism, kindness, honesty and integrity. I cant recommend him highly enough.” – Rachel Irvine ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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Galleger & Kennedy – Phoenix Office
2575 E Camelback Rd, Suite 1100
Phoenix, AZ 85016
Tel: (602) 530-8400