Misdiagnosis Lawyer in Chattanooga

A medical misdiagnosis occurs when a doctor incorrectly identifies your condition. A medical professional may arrive at the wrong conclusion, miss the diagnosis entirely, or recognize it too late. Such significant errors can have a profound impact on your health. 

A missed or delayed diagnosis may force you to endure physical hardships and the expense of unneeded medical care. Alternatively, you may not get the care you require at all. If any of that has happened to you, our misdiagnosis lawyers in Chattanooga can help you hold medical professionals accountable. 

Wettermark Keith has recovered more than $1.5 billion for our clients who were hurt due to the negligence of others. It’s More To Us, It’s Personal. Call to schedule your free consultation and learn more about how our medical malpractice lawyers in Chattanooga can assist you.

Why You Need an Attorney After a Misdiagnosis

Hospitals and insurance companies have lawyers working for them from the moment a claim is filed. You deserve someone working just as hard on your side. When you are up against powerful insurers, our personal injury lawyers in Chattanooga level the playing field.

Here is how we can help with your misdiagnosis case:

• We will review your complete medical history to identify where the diagnosis went wrong.
• As is usually necessary in these cases, we will refer to qualified medical experts for guidance. 
• Our team will assess your damages in order to seek maximum compensation for your losses. 
• We will make sure you meet Tennessee’s notice and certificate of good faith requirements correctly and on time.
• Our lawyers will negotiate with hospitals and insurers who are motivated to minimize what they pay.
• If a fair settlement isn’t possible, we will take your case to court and represent you in a civil lawsuit, preparing your case for trial if a fair settlement is not on the table. 

Our Chattanooga misdiagnosis lawyer team works on contingency fee arrangements for injury cases. You do not pay attorney fees upfront. Instead, your attorney’s payment comes from a portion of compensation recovered on your behalf. If there is no recovery, you do not owe attorney fees. 

Common Conditions Often Missed or Misdiagnosed

Some conditions get misdiagnosed more often than others because their early symptoms mimic less serious problems. Certain diagnoses, including the following, carry particularly serious consequences when they slip through the cracks:

• Early-stage colon or lung cancer may be dismissed as irritable bowel syndrome or a persistent cough, delaying appropriate treatment until the disease advances.
• Appendicitis could be mistaken for a stomach virus, allowing the condition to worsen until the appendix ruptures.
• Blood clots are often dismissed as a muscle strain, causing delays in treatment until they become life-threatening.
• Without proper evaluation, sepsis can be mistaken for the flu until a patient is already in crisis.

These mistakes happen in emergency rooms and doctors’ offices across Tennessee every year, and the consequences fall on the patient who trusted the diagnosis. Our legal team can investigate your incident and determine who is liable. 

What You Must Prove in a Medical Misdiagnosis Claim

To succeed in a misdiagnosis claim, you must show more than the fact that your condition was diagnosed incorrectly. The following four elements are necessary to establish negligence on the part of the medical professional:

• Duty of Care: Healthcare professionals have a legal responsibility to provide treatment that meets the accepted standard of a reasonably competent medical professional.
• Breach of Duty: A breach of duty occurs when a healthcare professional fails to meet the expected standard of care through negligent actions or decisions.
• Causation: Causation means proving that the healthcare professional’s breach of duty directly caused the patient’s injury and that a correct diagnosis likely would have led to a better outcome.
• Damages: Damages are the financial and personal losses caused by a medical misdiagnosis, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, and other harms.

Our Chattanooga misdiagnosis lawyers will seek out every party who played a role in your misdiagnosis and seek to hold them accountable for the suffering you have endured. 

Potential Compensation After a Misdiagnosis

When a misdiagnosis causes real harm, Tennessee law allows you to pursue several categories of damages tied directly to what you have lost. You may be able to recover compensation for things like:

• Past and future medical bills tied to correcting the misdiagnosis.
• Lost income if the delay kept you out of work or reduced your ability to earn.
• Compensation for pain, suffering, and the emotional toll of a preventable delay.

Every case is different, and the right number depends on how the misdiagnosis actually changed your medical outcome. We build that picture using your records, your doctors’ own notes, and the opinions of qualified experts.

Get Help from Our Misdiagnosis Attorneys in Chattanooga

Living with the aftermath of a misdiagnosis means carrying a burden you never should have had to bear. The mental anguish and additional medical costs do not disappear just because someone finally got the diagnosis right.

The medical provider’s error may even have resulted in complications you will need to deal with for months, years, or the rest of your life. Our team can hold healthcare professionals accountable when their negligence causes such hardship. 

Our Chattanooga medical misdiagnosis lawyers at Wettermark Keith have over five decades of combined legal experience behind us. Call today for a free consultation, and let us help you find a path forward.