What is deep vein thrombosis?
It is appropriate for patients to trust their doctors to correctly diagnose their medical conditions and provide adequate treatment. Unfortunately, in some cases, medical professionals fail to properly diagnose a medical condition. One medical condition that is often misdiagnosed is deep vein thrombosis (DVT), which occurs when a blood clot forms in one of the deep veins located in a person’s body. While DVT often causes uncomfortable symptoms, in some cases, the condition can occur without any symptoms. If you had DVT that was misdiagnosed or improperly treated, it can prove particularly helpful to contact a seasoned medical malpractice attorney like the legal counsel at The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan.
Steps to Detect the Presence of DVT
DVT involves a blood clot that forms in the deep veins located in a person’s abdomen, legs, or pelvis. After the clot has formed, a person often experiences pain and swelling. Sometimes, part of the clot ends up traveling to a person’s lungs, which can lead to a pulmonary embolism. The following are a few things that can increase a person’s chances of experiencing a pulmonary embolism: advanced age, kidney problems, obesity, smoking, and pregnancy. If there is a significant risk of DVT, a physician will likely prescribe anticoagulants.
Establishing Failure to Diagnose
To establish that a physician’s failure to diagnose was medical malpractice, your attorney must establish that the medical provider’s conduct differed from the accepted standard of care. A standard of care must be established by a medical expert who can determine whether given the patient’s age, gender, and other risk factors, a reasonable provider would have determined that the patient had DVT.
Defenses that Doctors Raise in Response to Malpractice
In response to a medical malpractice claim, a physician might argue that even if a test for DVT would have occurred at the time that the patient requested treatment, it would have still been too late to prevent the condition. There also other defenses that a physician might raise in response to a medical malpractice claim.
Speak with a DVT Medical Malpractice Lawyer Today
If you are harmed due to a physician’s failure to diagnose DVT, do not hesitate to speak with a medical malpractice attorney at The Law Offices of Gerald J. Noonan. Contact our law office today for a free consultation, during which time our legal counsel will review your various options. For over 35 years, our law office has helped patients impacted by medical malpractice obtain the compensation they deserve.
We offer a free, no-obligation legal consultation to help you understand your rights and the value of your case.
Our medical malpractice trial lawyers assist clients throughout all of Massachusetts including, but not limited to, those in the following counties, cities and towns: Plymouth County, Brockton, Plymouth, Bridgewater, Marshfield, Hingham, Duxbury, Wareham, Abington, Rockland, Whitman, Hanson, Holbrook, Middleborough; Norfolk County including Quincy, Stoughton, Dedham, Weymouth, Braintree, Avon, Holbrook, Randolph, Canton, Sharon, Brookline, Franklin; Bristol County including New Bedford, Fall River, Taunton, Attleboro, Westport, Dartmouth, Mansfield, Easton, Raynham, Lakeville, Norton; Cape Cod, Hyannis, Falmouth, Barnstable and the Greater Boston area including Cambridge, Somerville, Medford, Everett, Lawrence, Lynn, Revere, Dorchester, Roxbury.
