New York City Failure to Diagnose Scoliosis Attorneys

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A failure to diagnose lawsuit is a sad reality for many people who find themselves experiencing a progressive disease discovered far too late. And, unfortunately for many victims, a physician’s part in failure to diagnose a disease encompasses a huge segment of medical malpractice cases and can cost the victim thousands of dollars if the proper steps are not taken to hold those responsible accountable for their mishaps. Failure to diagnose cases can cover such health issues as cancer, blood clots, birth defects and scoliosis, just to name a few. As patients, we ask ourselves how a physician can fail to diagnose? After all, the reason why we go to a health care practitioner in the first place is because that professional is educated and equipped to discover, treat and diagnose an abnormal issue. Yet, there are many health care providers who fall into the category of a professional who has “moved away from good and acceptable practices” by not discovering a disease or medical concern that could have been treatable in its earlier stages.

What is Scoliosis?

There are three types of scoliosis and, by its simplest definition, is curvature of the spine in an “S” or “C” shaped form. The three types of scoliosis are neuromuscular (abnormal development of bones), functional (abnormality on another part of the body), and idiopathic (unknown causes). A curvature of the spine should be detected when someone is young, ideally during a routine doctor’s visit where certain dexterity and flexibility tests are performed. This routine testing involves the patient touching his or her toes to determine whether there is an un-evenness in the hips or deficiency in the degree of how far a patient can bend when touching the toes. Not limited to just children, however, many adults find themselves experiencing scoliosis through symptoms caused from abuse of the back and spine over time, or an injury that was improperly treated or ignored.

Failure to Diagnose Scoliosis

When a doctor misses a diagnosis such as scoliosis, the one who suffers is the patient, left to experience a lifetime of back pain, migraines and other physical ailments for which there appears to be no relief in sight. In fact, physicians and other care providers are quick to prescribe drugs to help the patient alleviate the back pain, or neglect to take the next step of ordering an x-ray. This delay in addressing treatment of the problem often leads to the patient outgrowing the window of opportunity by which medical options for treating the scoliosis may have been beneficial during the younger years. Instead, one is forced to live with exacerbating pain and suffering, absence from work, and missed future opportunity by way of career limitations and much more.

Legal Issues and Relief for Failure to Diagnose Scoliosis Victims

A failure to diagnose case is challenging and difficult. The burden of proof lies in finding support for whether or not the health care provider had the knowledge to formulate a basis for a diagnosis during previous visits. Additionally, the difficulty is determining whether the spinal condition would have been severe enough that the physician could have discovered the condition on its own without a patient complaining or visiting the physician for that specific issue. Law firms who work with medical malpractice cases will have a higher success rate at obtaining medical records and historical documentation, as well as utilizing advanced tools for investigating and creating a case in support of the victim’s rights and compensation, regardless of the phase of discovery in the patient. Such investigation can include:

• Obtaining childhood records of the patient
• Determining whether the standard of care required ordering an x-ray
• Determining whether or not treatment would have been different if the scoliosis had been detected earlier
• Proving negligence on the part of the physician for failing to review the history of the patient
• Discovering whether or not follow-ups or second opinions that were requested did or did not take place
• Investigating the malpractice insurance of the physician
• Researching documentation of wage loss and other pain and suffering on the part of the victim

Investigation for a failure to diagnose scoliosis case is best handled by a reputable law firm such as Finz & Finz, P.C., experienced in settlements related to medical malpractice and failure to diagnose. Without any obligation, we invite you to fill out and submit our Free Failure to Diagnose Scoliosis Case Evaluation form, or contact us toll free to (855) TOP-FIRM to further discuss your situation. The firm also handles all type of medical malpractice cases including the following conditions:

Our team will help you achieving the compensation you deserve in your failure to diagnose scoliosis case.