What Are Your Rights After an Iowa Doctor Misdiagnoses Your Medical Condition?
When we go to the doctor, we trust their experience and credentials to figure out what may be wrong with us. We don't go into a doctor's appointment assuming that we will be a victim of a medical misdiagnosis in Iowa. We trust that doctors know what they are doing. However, the reality is that even medical professionals with the best intentions do make mistakes.
When mistakes happen in the medical world, serious consequences for patients can occur as the result of a misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose, wrong diagnosis, partial diagnosis, and more. Misdiagnosis is, in fact, the most common type of medical mistake made by doctors in Iowa and throughout the nation.
Some conditions that doctors commonly misdiagnose include:
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Heart disease
- Breast cancer
- Melanoma
- Ovarian cancer
- Cervical cancer
- Fibromyalgia
- Lupus
- Epilepsy
- Hypothyroidism
- Meningitis
Why do these conditions often get misdiagnosed?
Sometimes these conditions have similar symptoms that could be mistaken for another medical issue. For example, heart disease can often be written off as anxiety or panic attacks by doctors, as women may feel difficulty breathing or experience a racing heart. When this occurs, an Iowa misdiagnosis has occurred, and a doctor should be held responsible.
Other times, doctors do not spend adequate time or perform necessary tests to make an accurate diagnosis. When scans are not done to detect cancer and it goes undiagnosed until its later stages, it can be the result of a doctor failing to diagnose your condition.
You Have Rights After a Misdiagnosis
It is important to get a second opinion. Go see a specialist and find out from another doctor whether you would have a different prognosis if your condition had been caught earlier.
You may have rights for pain and suffering, medical bills, lost income, rehabilitation and therapy expenses. It is important that you consult with an experienced Cedar Rapids medical malpractice attorney if you have been misdiagnosed or if your doctor failed to diagnose your medical condition.
Our lawyers at Brady Preston Gronlund understand that medical malpractice can forever change your life and the life of your family. Although we cannot take away the harm that was caused to you as a result of misdiagnosis, we can help you get the necessary compensation that you deserve.
Call an experienced Iowa medical malpractice lawyer in Cedar Rapids at the Law Offices of Brady Preston Gronlund today at (319) 866-9277.