Medical Malpractice: What You Should Know About Failure to Diagnose

When we’re not feeling well, we trust our physicians to diagnose the problem and provide appropriate care. Typically, doctors meet these expectations by identifying the cause of the symptoms and initiating a treatment plan. Sometimes a physician will order further tests or refer you to a specialist. But what if a doctor fails to correctly diagnose your condition and you suffer harm as a result? When this happens, the patient (or family member) may have grounds for a failure to diagnose lawsuit.

What is Failure to Diagnose?

Failing to diagnose or misdiagnosing an illness or injury is a form of medical malpractice. However, making a diagnostic error does not automatically mean a doctor committed malpractice.

To file a successful malpractice claim, you must show the doctor was negligent in misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose your condition. In addition, you have to prove you were harmed as a direct result of this negligence. Usually, the patient’s illness or injury becomes worse because of the doctor’s failure to diagnose and treat it promptly and correctly.

Common Examples of Failure to Diagnose

In adults:

• Cancer. The most common types of misdiagnosed cancers are breast, colon, melanoma and lung.

• Heart attacks. Doctors often fail to diagnose heart attacks in women because their symptoms are different. While men typically experience chest or arm pain, women may have indigestion or other signs of gastrointestinal distress.

In children:

• Meningitis. Any of these conditions can result in death when left untreated due to a physician’s diagnostic error.

Other Kinds of Diagnostic Errors

While failure to diagnose is most common, doctors make other diagnostic errors such as:

• Misdiagnosing and mistreating a condition, such as treating a patient for a sprain instead of a broken bone
• Misjudging the severity or stage of a progressive illness such as cancer
• Misreading a lab, x-ray or radiology report or relying on erroneous test results
• Delaying the diagnosis of a condition that should be treated promptly

Some of these errors may be the fault of a facility or person other than the doctor, such as a lab, hospital, technician or nurse.

How Do I Prove Failure to Diagnose?

First, the plaintiff must prove they would not have suffered the same harm if the doctor had made the correct diagnosis. For example, suppose a patient died from cancer after a doctor failed to diagnose the condition. The victim’s representatives have to prove the patient would have lived longer if the disease had been diagnosed earlier.

In addition, plaintiffs have to demonstrate that the doctor acted negligently. This involves proving the doctor did not meet the recognized standard of care for the specialty and geographic area. In other words, would a doctor with similar credentials and experience have diagnosed the condition correctly? If so, the patient probably has grounds for a malpractice lawsuit.

How a Good Lawyer Can Help You Win a Failure to Diagnosis Lawsuit

There are many reasons why plaintiffs who hire medical malpractice attorneys have more successful outcomes. First, medical malpractice lawsuits are complex, with numerous forms and strict filing deadlines. In addition, failure to diagnose claims can be difficult to prove. An experienced lawyer will find the right expert witnesses and obtain the medical records necessary to support the claim. Further, a skilled attorney will provide the professional representation you need if your case goes to trial.

Medical malpractice law is complicated, but finding the right lawyer is simple.

Call 1-800-MALPRACTICE today for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Do You Have a Case?

Sources:

• https://www.justia.com/injury/medical-malpractice/common-types-of-medical-malpractice/misdiagnosis-and-failure-to-diagnose/
• https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/failure-to-diagnose-lawyers.html
• https://www.legalmatch.com/law-library/article/diagnosis-error-lawsuits.html
• https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/medical-malpractice-misdiagnosis-delayed-diagnosis-32288-2.html