Failure to Order the Right Diagnostic Tests | Hourigan Kluger & Quinn
Learn when failure to order diagnostic testing may contribute to delayed diagnosis or medical malpractice.
Diagnostic Testing Can Be Critical to Proper Treatment
Doctors and other healthcare providers often rely on diagnostic testing to confirm or rule out serious medical conditions. When appropriate tests are not ordered, a patient may experience delayed diagnosis or incorrect treatment, leading to worsening illness, injury or death.
Cases involving a failure to order tests may involve bloodwork, imaging, cardiac testing, biopsies, cultures, neurological testing, or follow-up testing after abnormal results. Common examples may include failure to order imaging after head trauma, failure to order cardiac testing for chest pain, failure to biopsy a suspicious lesion, or failure to order bloodwork despite symptoms of infection.
In Pennsylvania, cases involving a failure to order tests require proof that a healthcare provider was negligent and that the negligence caused injury or death. A Certificate of Merit is also generally required in order to pursue these cases. This means a qualified medical expert must review the case and confirm that there is a reasonable basis for the claim.
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Understanding Your Legal Rights After Medical Harm
Understanding your legal rights after a failure to order diagnostic testing is important because these cases have to be filed within two years and require detailed review of the medical records and literature to determine if there was negligence and whether the injury or death could have been prevented.
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