Frier Levitt partner Alex Keoskey is featured in a Healthcare Risk Management article titled, “Loss of Chance Doctrine Claims Can Be Avoided” by Greg Freeman. The article delves into loss of chance allegations and how understanding these claims can help with preventing them. The article expands on the two main types of claims as well as the medical care specialties affected by them. Alex provides insights on these allegations, explaining that they usually arise from “a delay in diagnosis alleged to have deprived a patient of vital treatment that potentially would have prolonged their lifespan.”
In terms of defending these claims, Alex notes, “The most practical means of defending these claims is for the defendant physician’s counsel to introduce evidence demonstrating that the alleged failure to timely diagnose would have made no practical difference in the patients’ medical outcome.” Another method he highlights is “to demonstrate that the plaintiff contributed to his or her own harm by failing to mitigate their damages — for example, by failing to comply with the defendant doctor’s instructions or failing to be compliant with the prescribed medication or treatment regimen.”
Read the article along with Alex’s legal intel here: https://www.reliasmedia.com/articles/loss-of-chance-doctrine-claims-can-be-avoided