Buffalo Personal Injury Lawyer
Failure to Evaluate a Patient
Severe injuries frequently occur as a result of a doctor’s failure to conduct a thorough medical evaluation of the patient. A Buffalo personal injury lawyer can advise you whether the circumstances in your case are likely to meet the necessary elements for a legal negligence action.
Doctors have certain professional standards of care to which they must adhere. Conducting a comprehensive medical history is part of that standard of care. Failure to do so can result in negligence on the doctor’s part if an injury occurs.
If a doctor does not conduct a proper medical history, a variety of injuries may result. For instance, if a doctor fails to make a medical inquiry into preexisting conditions, this may impact the doctor’s diagnosis and treatment of current issues. If the wrong problem is identified, then incorrect or ineffective treatment may be prescribed.
If the doctor or other medical personnel do not ask what medications the patient is currently taking, then the probability of “cross contamination” of medicines may occur. The contamination can cause reactions that are toxic, can dangerously thin the patient’s blood, or cause other negative effects. This can result in harm or even death depending on the person and medicines.
A harmful allergic reaction could also occur if a doctor does not inquire into the patient’s allergies and prescribes the wrong medication.
Additionally, if a medical examination is incomplete, the doctor may miss learning of risk factors that could prevent harm to a patient. For instance, this occurs often in heart attack situations, where the heart attack could have been prevented if the doctor had acquired a complete medical history of the patient. Had the physician learned of risk factors (combined with the patient’s presenting symptoms) the likeliness of a heart attack may have been apparent and preventable. Such a failure may constitute negligence.
If you believe that you or a loved one was injured as a result of negligence resulting from a doctor’s failure to obtain a complete medical history, you should talk to an experienced Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer.
Call or use the contact form at right to contact John Dadow, an experienced Buffalo personal injury lawyer, for a free consultation regarding your medical issue.
