Failing To Timely Diagnose Diabetes Can Be Deadly!

Diabetes is a condition often misdiagnosed and even not diagnosed at all although the patient actually has the condition.  In fact, medical professionals are required to follow prescribed protocols when diagnosing patients.  Depending on one’s age, weight, family history, and symptoms complained of, and many other factors, medical professionals should order any number of tests to determine if a patient has diabetes.  Common tests used to diagnose diabetes are:

• Oral glucose tolerance test
• A1C test
• Fasting plasma glucose test
• Random plasma glucose test

If another doctor practicing in the same field and locality would have ordered such diagnostic testing under similar circumstances, your doctor could be negligent for breaching the standard of care owed to you if he/she did not do likewise.

Failing to properly diagnose diabetes has serious consequences.  Untreated diabetes can lead to:

• Kidney damage
• Foot damage
• Heart and blood vessel disease
• Eye damage
• Skin and mouth conditions
• Hearing impairment
• Osteoporosis
• Strokes
• Limb loss

Any one of these can cause a patient’s quality of life to deteriorate and can even lead to death.  Patient’s who aren’t diagnosed properly will miss more work, lose wages, spend more money on health expenses, and may even have to change careers, paying to be retained/reeducated.

Any damages that you have suffered as a result of a medical professional’s misdiagnosis can be recovered in a court of law.  If a doctor owed you a duty of care, and breached the standard of care which caused you to suffer damages, then you could be successful at using the court system to gain relief.

Medical experts will testify on your behalf, showing the court what the doctor should have done and then showing the court what the doctor did negligently.  Economic experts will quantify your losses so that the jury understands how you should be compensated.  The jury will have the opportunity to grant you compensatory damages which can place you in a position as if the malpractice never happened.  There are some cases in which punitive damages are due to a plaintiff because the defendant’s actions were so wanton and reckless that the doctor needs to be punished.

But what do you think?  I would love to hear from you!  Leave a comment or I also welcome your phone call on my toll-free cell at 1-866-889-6882 or you can drop me an e-mail at jfisher@fishermalpracticelaw.com.  You are always welcome to request my FREE book, The Seven Deadly Mistakes of Malpractice Victims, at the home page of my website at www.protectingpatientrights.com.