When you go to your doctor, you hope to get treated for whatever is bothering you and return home in a better condition. However, you might feel helpless when the doctor you trust disregards your pain and does not take your complaints seriously. Listening to a patient should be a doctor’s priority to create the optimal treatment plan. 

If you were misdiagnosed, unfairly, or wrongly treated by a doctor, you might have a case of medical malpractice. Suing a doctor when they do not treat you correctly and put your life in danger is not easy, but it is possible with the help of an experienced legal expert. To know more about the legal steps you should take, contact an attorney today. 

Negative consequences of disregarding a patient’s health complaints 

• Delayed treatment

The longer a doctor disregards a patient’s health complaints, the longer the delay. Some injuries or illnesses can be treated easily and with comparatively lower medical fees when treated at their early stages. However, just like cancer, certain illnesses can become fatal and extremely expensive to treat once they progress to further levels. Thus, delayed treatment can even take your life. 

• Misdiagnosis

One of the most dangerous side effects of being ignored by your doctor is misdiagnosis. Misdiagnosis can happen when a patient is explaining their symptoms to the doctor and the doctor disregards some of them. They then fail to adequately investigate what is causing the symptoms, leading to a misdiagnosis. A misdiagnosis can lead to a wrong treatment plan and can make your condition even worse than before. 

• Performing unnecessary tests

When the doctor misdiagnoses you and presents a wrong treatment plan, you would be required to go through a number of medical tests that you do not even need. These tests may not even be related to your actual health condition. This causes a huge waste of your money and time. 

Is your doctor liable for future medical problems?

If your doctor fails to diagnose or treat your condition correctly, which further leads to medical complications, you may have a case of medical malpractice. However, to prove that you have a case, you need to show that the doctor is liable. This means that you would need to gather evidence showing that the doctor failed to provide you with a standard of care that another doctor would have provided if they were in their place. 

To ensure whether you have a case, contact a medical malpractice attorney today.