The Important Signs of Medical Negligence

Medical negligence is something that occurs when a medical practitioner performs in a negligent manner while treating a patient�s condition. Negligence can occur from an action taken or by failure to take appropriate action. There are three main causes of medical negligence. First, there is a failure to diagnose or a misdiagnosis of a medical condition. Second, there is a failure to provide appropriate treatment for a medical condition. Third, there is an unreasonable delay in treating a medical condition.
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Recognizing Medical Negligence
While the rules and laws surrounding medical negligence can vary greatly by state, it is important to consider some basic signs of medical negligence. A 2005 study done by the Journal of the American Medical Association found that 10-15% of medical diagnosis was wrong once the autopsy was performed. This is a high number of medical negligence cases that never goes to court. The reason for this is that people often don�t know when they are facing a medical negligence issues. Consider the following five warning signs of medical negligence.

If you are faced with a serious illness or a major treatment then you need to consider the following five warning signs and to carefully consider what your doctor or lab is telling you. First, the biggest sign of medical negligence is when you don�t get better even after treatment has been completed. Doctor�s often don�t want to admit if they were wrong, so if your treatment isn�t working it is a good idea to get a second, third or even fourth opinion about your diagnosis.

The second warning sign is if your symptoms don�t match the diagnosis, you are given. This is when doing some research on your own is beneficial. Once you receive a diagnosis, you should go to a reliable source such as webmd.com, yourdiagnosis.com or myelectronicmd.com. Take the time to look up your diagnosis and consider the symptoms related to it. If you don�t have, any symptoms related to your diagnosis then there is a chance you could have been misdiagnosed. While you don�t want to self-diagnose your condition, you can use the internet as a way to determine if your doctor is on the right track. If the diagnosis doesn�t seem correct, you can either take the information to your doctor or seek out a second opinion.

Third, you want to be wary if your medical diagnosis is simply based on a lab test. If you don�t have any symptoms that are linked to a diagnosis, you should be extremely careful. Labs can make mistakes and doctor�s often won�t question the results. If you are in doubt about your lab results then talk to your doctor about having the same tests analyzed by a different lab just to make sure the diagnosis is correct before beginning treatment for something you may not have.

Fourth, be cautious is your doctor is linking common complains to an ailment that isn�t as common. Sometimes a simply, common ailment isn�t linked to a larger condition. Therefore, if you simply have a headache and your doctor is diagnosing a brain tumor you may want to consider getting a second opinion before continuing with treatment.

Lastly, be suspicious if your diagnosis involves a test you�ve never done. Reports have shown that diagnosis is often made without tests that can provide doctor�s with additional information. If there are tests missing, be sure to ask your doctor why they weren�t done. There is plenty of information on the internet that can help you in this aspect.

Take Action
If, based on these five warning signs, you feel you have been the victim of medical negligence it is important to take action. Each state has specific statute of limitations on medical negligence claims so you need to contact an attorney as soon as you feel your doctor is guilty of medical negligence. Even if you don�t want to file a lawsuit, it is important to talk with a lawyer since they can help you determine what damages, if any, are available to you. Your lawyer can advise you on the best course of action. Filing a lawsuit doesn�t always have to happen, but by staying on top of your medical diagnosis you can help reduce the statistics mentioned earlier in this article and avoid a life-changing effect as the result of medical negligence