Medical professionals strive to deliver immediate and efficient care in fast-paced urgent care clinics. However, despite their best intentions, they are not immune to mistakes.
Sometimes errors can lead to significant harm because you receive a wrong diagnosis.
If you’re asking, can you sue urgent care for misdiagnosis? The short answer is yes.
But the process in New Mexico can be complicated, which requires a deep understanding of the legal landscape.
We highly recommend hiring a New Mexico medical malpractice lawyer if you want to sue for an urgent care misdiagnosis. To get started, contact us online or call 575-291-1735.
Understanding Medical Malpractice
Before delving into the specifics of urgent care malpractice, it’s essential to understand a general definition of medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider breaches the standard of care, resulting in harm or injury to the patient.
The standard of care refers to the accepted practices and procedures that a competent healthcare provider would use under similar circumstances.
Can I Sue Urgent Care for Misdiagnosis?
Yes, urgent care clinics, like any other medical facility, can be held liable for misdiagnosis. For example, imagine a healthcare professional at an urgent care clinic fails to diagnose a condition that a competent professional would have identified or wrongly diagnoses a condition, leading to inappropriate treatment. In that case, there may be grounds for a malpractice lawsuit.
Proving Medical Malpractice in an Urgent Care Setting
Initiating a lawsuit is one thing, but proving malpractice requires meeting specific legal criteria:
- Duty of care—you must prove that a doctor-patient relationship existed and the healthcare provider therefore had a duty of care toward you;
- Breach of duty—you must demonstrate that the healthcare provider breached their duty by misdiagnosing something that a similar healthcare provider would have diagnosed correctly;
- Injury—you must show that you sustained an injury or harm; and
- Causation—you must establish a direct link between the misdiagnosis and the harm you suffered.
Failure to prove all elements of medical negligence means you won’t be able to pursue a malpractice claim in New Mexico successfully.
How to Sue an Urgent Care for Misdiagnosis in New Mexico?
When it comes to initiating legal action, there are some essential things you need to remember:
- Seek legal counsel. Start by hiring an experienced medical malpractice attorney in New Mexico. Navigating a medical malpractice claim requires specific legal expertise.
- Gather evidence. Compile all relevant medical records, test results, and other documentation to demonstrate your misdiagnosis and its consequences. Your attorney will help you gather all necessary information.
- Hire an expert. Your attorney will typically seek the opinion of a medical expert to confirm that a breach of the standard of care occurred. For example, they may testify about the process a reasonable healthcare provider would have undertaken to make the correct diagnosis and the errors your healthcare provider made in diagnosing you.
- Submit your claim for medical review. New Mexico has a specific requirement that you must submit your claim to the medical review board before filing a lawsuit.
- File a lawsuit. Your attorney will draft and file a complaint to initiate the lawsuit.
Although you must submit your case to New Mexico’s medical review commission, the panel’s decision is not binding. That means you can sue an urgent care for misdiagnosis even if the panel sides with the medical facility.
Contact a New Mexico Medical Malpractice Attorney
At Poulos & Coates, our team primarily focuses on medical malpractice cases. We understand the nuances of urgent care malpractice and are committed to pursuing justice for our clients.
With a medical doctor and nurse on staff, our team possesses the skills and knowledge necessary for medical malpractice cases.
If you believe you have experienced a misdiagnosis in an urgent care setting, don’t hesitate to contact us. We stand ready to fight for your rights and help you pursue the compensation you deserve.
Greig Coates, M.D., J.D.
Over the last thirty years, Dr. Coates has successfully represented plaintiffs in every conceivable type of medical malpractice lawsuit–from single-physician cases to complex litigation involving over a dozen doctors and several hospitals. Dr. Coates has taken several thousand physician depositions in his career involving every known physician specialty and sub-specialty, and almost as many depositions involving hospital personnel such as nurses, techs, and administrators. He has tried several dozen cases to successful verdicts.
Rate this Post
Loading...