NY Lawyers in Failure to Diagnose Cancer and Emergency Room Negligence

It is a doctor's duty to notice signs and symptoms of common diseases and ailments, but unfortunately, doctors often fail to diagnose an illness or diagnose a disease too late. For instance, in the case of cancer a late diagnosis can be the difference between life and death.

A high percentage of medical malpractice cases are failure to diagnose cases. In fact, 51.7% of ER-related malpractice lawsuits in a study involved misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis or failure to diagnose. And 20% of ER-related malpractice lawsuits in a study involved failure to diagnose with no diagnosis (Suing for Medical Malpractice, Sloan et al, 1993).

If your doctor has failed to properly diagnose a serious condition you may have, (and you are probably suffering as a result of it) then you should be aware of your legal rights. The failure to timely or properly diagnosis is malpractice.

Most recently, on August 11, 2009, Mr. Najdovski won a jury trial where the jury believed the patient, rather than the doctor who took the witness stand, that she complained of symptoms which should have alerted him to refer her to a specialist for follow-up on ruling out any serious condition. Because he did not refer her, and therefore failed to properly diagnose her, which is a duty every doctor has, he was hit with a jury verdict against him for $ 420,000.00. Iliakostas v. Issachar Karten, M.D., Supreme Court, Bronx County. This doctor used pre-printed forms to fill out during the initial doctor visit which were 20 years old and out-dated. So much for continuing medical education.