Gastrointestinal issues have been a significant threat leading to death worldwide. Sadly, most of these death results due to delayed diagnosis or misdiagnosis of gastrointestinal conditions. If you or your loved one gastrointestinal condition diagnosis has been delayed, or the condition has been misdiagnosed, you may file a claim.
This article contains the commonly misdiagnosed gastrointestinal condition and how one may file a claim.
Gastrointestinal Condition
The gastrointestinal disease affects the tract from the mouth or even from the anus. There are different types of GI. Some show symptoms on the tract, while others present no issues. The truth is that some symptoms represent themselves as different conditions. And it may be hard for anyone to know what they are suffering from. Common symptoms of GI include:
1. Nausea
2. Diarrhea
3. Vomiting
4. Loss of appetite
5. Fever
That’s why one takes a trip to the doctor to determine the conditions at hand. For instance, one suffering from a gastrointestinal condition is more likely to have diarrhea and a bloated stomach. As such, it’s possible to be diagnosed with other problems.
GI requires several tests to determine whether one could be suffering from it. When a doctor performs a quick diagnosis, this may lead to mistakes. Unfortunately, some doctor fails to detect the problem or relates your symptoms with other illnesses they have handled. If you are in such a position, it’s advisable to look for Anchorage family lawyers to guide you on seeking justice.
While GI may have similar symptoms with other conditions, taking time to conduct the proper test leads to the correct diagnosis.
Many types of gastrointestinal make the condition hard to detect. Some of these conditions include:
Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – The condition affects the large intestines. The most common symptoms include abdominal pain, constipation, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) – The condition involves chronic inflammation that affects the digestive tract. Symptoms include; fatigue, diarrhea, abdominal pain, bloody stools, loss of appetite.
Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (EPI) – This occurs due to an issue with the pancreas. Symptoms could include gas, bloating, diarrhea.
The above conditions may be confused with GI. If negligence is involved, this automatically leads to medical malpractice.
Anyone subjected to an incorrect diagnosis has the right to file a medical malpractice claim.
Determining Negligence for GI Misdiagnosis
The fact is that most of the doctors are in a hurry. Thus, they have don’t spend adequate time with a patient to detect what they could be suffering from. Your doctor may have confused your GI symptoms with the mentioned conditions. Thus, you may need to establish fault to get compensated.
You may consider the below factors when proving negligence for your claim:
There was a relationship (doctor-patient relationship).
The doctor never acted in a reasonable manner.
The negligence led to the misdiagnosis: You can prove that the doctor failed to include the correct diagnosis. And a reasonable and competent doctor, given such a situation, would have acted differently.
Misdiagnosis may involve a mismanaged or delayed diagnosis of conditions.
Note that such a doctor may not be held liable for every diagnostic error they make. You may hire a medical malpractice lawyer to help you establish the above. Having a misdiagnosis may not be a reasonable claim. Everyone can make a mistake. For instance, there could be no case if a doctor can prove that they made a mistake because of the history a patient presented.
The main issue would be to prove what the doctor acted incompetently. In such a case, your lawyer can get a medical expert in medical malpractice to prove that a differential diagnosis would have identified the GI condition. Such a medical expert can come up with a different diagnosis. Again, they may come up with how much each diagnosis may have revealed the probability of you having the GI conditions.
Ideally, such an expert will rule one single diagnosis that could have indicated the presence of GI. But this may not suffice. That’s why further investigations are needed to ensure that one has the correct diagnosis. Or a rather, appropriate tests must be conducted to rule out which condition is present. The critical issue in such claims would be whether the doctor in question breached their duty of care. In other words, it has to be determined what another doctor, given the same circumstances, would have done.
If the above has happened to you, this may lead to more complications. You may have a valid medical malpractice claim. Such claims are complex. They require one with the proper knowledge to deal with the insurance company. Your lawyer may choose to demand a settlement, but if the insurance company is not ready to settle, they can help you file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Such a lawyer understands what is to be treated as medical malpractice and what may not suffice.
