Is my daughters misdiagnose worth
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Is my daughters misdiagnose worth
My daughter 5yo was told twice she
had a ‘stomach virus’, once in the ER
and a follow up four days later at the
pediatric office. I was just told to wait
out the virus, it should go away. I
couldn’t stand to watch my child be in
so much pain and to not be
eating/drinking anything all that time.
So the next day I took her to a different
hospital, there they found out she had
appendicitis, but not only that it had
ruptured. She was flown out same day
to a better facility where they specialize
in it, due to the fact it was pretty bad
and her being so young. She stayed in
the hospital for three weeks after
surgery to recieve treatment and
medication. My question is, do I let
something like this go? Is it worth
pursuing?
Asked on June 28, 2016 under Malpractice Law, Arizona
Answers:
SJZ, Member, New York Bar / FreeAdvice Contributing Attorney
Answered 7 years ago | Contributor
If, as we hope, your daughter is now fine with no lasting consequences, then all you could sue for is the *additional* medical costs incurred because of the delays in diagnosis: that is, for out-of-pocket costs you only incurred because of the misdiagnosis (costs you would not have incurred if diagnosed correctly earlier). Since a medical malpractice suit can be very expensive (you have to hire a medical expert to write a report and testify, and such experts can cost thousands of dollars), unless the medical costs are very large, it would not be worth suing.
If there was a lasting harm to your child, then it is a very different story and you should speak with a medical malpractice attorney to explore your options.
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