DeKalb County Misdiagnosis Lawyers
Helping Our Clients Fight Back Against Medical Malpractice
Every day in our country, Americans put their very lives into the hands of medical professionals. While trust in healthcare workers has declined in recent years, they’re still the most trusted professionals in the United States. This is what makes it so devastating when a missed or wrong diagnosis leads to harmful results. If you or a loved one have found yourself in such a situation, a DeKalb County misdiagnosis lawyer may be able to help.
At Eshman Begnaud, LLC, our Georgia medical malpractice attorneys have seen the devastating results of mistakes in the healthcare field. Serious diseases can spread unchecked, and easily treatable conditions can turn into death sentences. Regardless of the underlying circumstances of your case, you may be entitled to significant compensation. Contact our law firm today to schedule a free consultation.
Are You Entitled to Compensation?
It’s important to recognize that not every negative medical outcome necessarily stems from malpractice. Doctors and other healthcare professionals have a certain standard of care they’re expected to uphold. Even when they succeed in this task, it’s still possible for bad things to happen.
To be entitled to compensation for medical malpractice, the legal elements of liability must exist. Your DeKalb County misdiagnosis lawyer can help you figure out if these three elements are present in your case:
- Duty of care: This is a responsibility to avoid actions that could harm others. It’s typically easy to establish for medical professionals. That’s because doctors and others in the field are expected to uphold standard qualities of care.
- Violation of duty: For liability to exist, it’s necessary to show that a medical professional failed to uphold their duty of care. A misdiagnosis that other professionals likely would not have made could be viewed as such a violation.
- Causation of harm: Misdiagnoses are common in healthcare, but they’re not always injurious. A missed or wrong diagnosis must lead to actual harm (e.g., financial, physical, emotional) for legal liability to exist.
If each of these legal elements of liability exists, there’s a good chance that an injury victim qualifies for compensation. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll get what they’re entitled to. Malpractice insurance companies will strive to pay out as little as possible. This means low settlement offers and aggressive representation during litigation.
Fortunately, you don’t have to go through this alone. At Eshman Begnaud, LLC, our DeKalb County misdiagnosis attorneys can help you fight back. Contact us today for a free case evaluation.
What Are Common Types of Harmful Misdiagnoses?
It’s scary to think about, but most of us have probably been misdiagnosed at some point in our lives. Perhaps we were told we had a common cold when it was really sinusitis, or maybe we were treated for acute bronchitis when we really had a minor case of pneumonia. Unfortunately, not all missed or wrongful diagnoses are this benign.
Here are just a few of the common conditions whose misdiagnoses result in serious harm that our medical malpractice attorneys see:
- Cancer
- Heart attack
- Stroke
- Infections
- Appendicitis
- Meningitis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Autoimmune disease
- Psychiatric disorder
- Neurological disorder
- Allergic reaction
- Gastrointestinal conditions
- Chronic pain conditions
- Endocrine disorders
- Injuries misdiagnosis
Clearly, this is a wide range of conditions whose symptoms are often misinterpreted. Such mistakes can lead to delayed, inadequate, or incorrect treatments. Unfortunately, this very often leads to much worse outcomes — sometimes even resulting in death. If you or a loved one have been harmed due to such mistakes, it’s critical for you to speak with a DeKalb County misdiagnosis attorney.
At Eshman Begnaud, LLC, we offer free consultations so you can better understand your options.
What Damages Are You Entitled To?
If you’ve suffered significant harm due to a misdiagnosis, it’s likely that your case will be settled outside of court. In fact, the majority of medical malpractice, wrongful death, and personal injury claims are resolved via settlement. However, this will not always be possible. Medical practitioners and their insurers will sometimes try to avoid doing what’s right.
This can create the need for litigation, and when this occurs, you may be entitled to the following damages:
- Special damages: When doctors make mistakes, it often results in monetary losses (e.g., lost income, medical expenses, therapy costs). These losses can be reimbursed with special damages.
- General damages: A misdiagnosis can also lead to non-financial losses. This could include pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of companionship. General damages can reimburse a victim for these losses.
- Punitive damages: When a misdiagnosis stems from particularly egregious actions, it’s possible that the court may award additional punitive damages. These are meant to punish the liable party rather than reimburse losses.
When you work with a DeKalb County misdiagnosis lawyer, insurers are more likely to offer a fair settlement from the start. However, you should always opt to hire trial attorneys like those at Eshman Begnaud, LLC. You want someone on your side who has extensive experience with litigation rather than someone who simply accepts any insurance company offer.
Let us handle your case for you so you can focus on getting your life back to normal.
Contact Our DeKalb County Misdiagnosis Lawyers Today
It’s always devastating when doctors and other medical professionals let us down. Fortunately, such occurrences don’t always result in disastrous outcomes. However, it’s important to hold responsible parties accountable when such outcomes do occur. A missed or wrong diagnosis that leads to injury or death is never appropriate, and only accountability can ensure that such mistakes don’t become commonplace.
At Eshman Begaud, LLC, our Georgia medical malpractice attorneys have extensive experience holding negligent practitioners accountable. We’re often able to do this through settlement negotiations, but when insurers refuse to offer fair compensation, we have no problem taking your case to trial. Our law firm is on your side. Contact us at (678) 892-7173 to schedule your free consultation.
Our DeKalb County misdiagnosis lawyers are here to help.