(845) 802-0047Doctors are responsible for identifying your health problems and prescribing an effective course of treatment. When a doctor makes a mistake and fails to perform a critical procedure, you could suffer severe physical or emotional harm. Regardless of why a failure occurred, a doctor’s potential negligence could lead to life-altering consequences.
An experienced Albany failure to perform a critical procedure attorney could help you hold a physician accountable for their error. There may be many legal options available, including filing a lawsuit for the damages you sustained, so you may seek compensation. A focused patient’s rights attorney could defend you during a medical malpractice claim.
What is a Misdiagnosis?
One of the first steps to treating a patient is the diagnosis. This can help a doctor determine a course of care. When a doctor misdiagnoses a patient, the patient may not receive the care, medications, or critical procedures they need.
For example, if a doctor misdiagnoses a patient’s traumatic brain injury as a simple headache, that patient may not receive important diagnostic tests and lifesaving care. In some cases, a doctor may correct a misdiagnosis. However, if a delayed diagnosis causes a failure to provide a critical procedure, an Albany lawyer could help harmed people recover compensation.
Critical Emergency Room Failures in Albany
Another reason that a doctor may fail to perform a necessary procedure is their volume of work. A doctor may be too rushed or busy and forget to schedule or perform the procedure. This commonly occurs in emergency rooms. Most patients who visit the emergency room need immediate medical attention, but hospitals often dedicate only a limited number of nurses and doctors to these areas.
Why Might a Physician Fail to Perform a Critical Procedure?
In the fast-paced emergency setting, a physician may unwittingly overlook a patient’s need for a critical procedure. Sometimes, the doctor may be caring for another patient and forget to order a test or perform a necessary step in a patient’s care plan. Even if the healthcare professional is unaware of their failure to provide a critical procedure, an attorney in Albany could work to hold them accountable.
What Compensation Could Injured Patients Seek?
When a doctor or other medical professional neglects to provide adequate care for their patients, resulting in harm or injury, the victim could seek compensation for the resulting damage.
In Albany, individuals harmed by a doctor’s negligence and failure to provide a necessary procedure could seek compensation for:
- Medical expenses
- Wages lost due to time from work
- Pain and suffering
- A wrongful death, if applicable
Determining the value of this compensation may be difficult. Following a doctor’s failure to perform a critical procedure, an attorney experienced in defending patients’ rights could quantify the level of harm. Understanding the value of harm could help an attorney fight for a potential damage awards that accurately reflects injury.
Resolving Failure to Perform Critical Procedure Cases
There are two ways an attorney in Albany could favorably resolve a legal claim stemming from the failure to perform a critical procedure. Many of these cases result in a monetary settlement. When settlements are not an option, litigation is the next best chance to secure fair compensation.
Most of the time, malpractice cases resulting from the failure to perform a critical procedure are resolved through negotiated settlements. Doctors and other medical professionals typically enjoy substantial insurance coverage that protects them from third party liability claims. While these insurance providers are often willing to settle these claims, their initial offers are rarely reasonable or fair. Insurance companies aggressively pursue lowball settlement offers, especially when they are dealing with injured individuals without legal representation.
These aggressive tactics are common with plaintiffs that do not have an attorney but the right legal representation could convince the insurance company to make a reasonable offer to settle.
There are times when a settlement in these cases is impossible. Some defendants will adamantly deny failing to perform a critical procedure. These individuals often refuse to consider any settlement offer and instead demand a trial.
No matter what their reasoning, trials are a reality in some cases. When a trial becomes necessary, the benefits of hiring an attorney with litigation experience is clear. The right attorney could not only develop a winning trial strategy but also do so in a way that removes the stress and worry from the plaintiff. Aggressively pursuing a trial verdict is one way to secure a favorable outcome in these cases.
The Time Limit to File a Lawsuit
As is the case with any medical malpractice, there is a time limit on the ability to file an injury claim following the failure to perform a necessary procedure. The deadline that applies to these cases—the statute of limitations—is one of the primary pitfalls that can come with a malpractice case.
The statutory period for these cases lasts for two years and six months. This 30-month period begins to expire on the date that the act of malpractice occurs. While this date is easy to identify when it comes to surgical errors, it can be more challenging in cases involving the failure to perform a critical procedure. That is because there is no clear date of when the malpractice occurs in these cases.
Given the complications that come with the statute of limitations, it is important to seek the guidance of an attorney. A seasoned lawyer could ensure that a lawsuit complies with the statute.
The consequences of failing to file a malpractice lawsuit before the statute of limitations expires can have dire consequences for a claim for compensation. Typically, the court will dismiss a failure to perform a critical procedure lawsuit with prejudice if it is filed after the deadline. This will bring a malpractice case to abrupt and permanent end, even if there is no doubt as to the existence of negligence. The guidance of an attorney could help to avoid these pitfalls.
An Albany Failure to Perform Attorney is Available to Help
Often, critical procedures need to be performed as quickly as possible to prevent further damage. When a doctor fails to perform a critical procedure, the consequences can be serious. If your doctor neglected to order a test, failed to schedule you for surgery, or otherwise failed to treat your illness or injury, you may be able to recover compensation. A compassionate and skilled Albany failure to perform a critical procedure lawyer could review your case and explain how they may help. Reach out today to learn more.