Our Blog

Is Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis Considered Medical Malpractice?

Going to the doctors’ office can be a stressful event, especially when you are experiencing pain or discomfort from a medical ailment. The doctor must be able to properly diagnose your medical issue. If the doctor does not properly diagnose you, it may cause your condition to worsen or develop into another ailment all together.

Medical malpractice can occur when doctors harm patients by not providing them with the medical standard of care. Malpractice cases can include medical errors, childbirth injuries or surgical mistakes. One type of mistake that is commonly addressed in many medical malpractice lawsuits is misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis.

Factors of Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis

The doctor should be using a medical assessment called a differential diagnosis list. This assessment orders the potential diagnoses by likelihood on this list. The doctor should then investigative further into the symptoms you’re having to rule out which health conditions are not likely. This procedure may not always be successful due to the uncertain nature of medicine. The patient must be able to prove the following to recover compensation in a medical malpractice lawsuit:

• • You had a previous patient relationship with the doctor.

• • The doctor provided you with negligent treatment for your injury.

• The negligent treatment caused injury.

A patient can also use the opinion of another medical professional to prove that they were misdiagnosed by the initial doctor. The patient must be able to prove that:

• • The initial doctor did not correctly diagnosis you via the differential diagnosis list but another trained and competent doctor did.

• The initial doctor did correctly diagnosis you via the differential diagnosis list but did not consult any specialist to investigate the probability of the diagnosis.

Questions About Medical Malpractice?

If you or a loved one suffered from misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis due to a doctor’s negligence, contact an experienced attorney today. The medical malpractice lawyers at Lampert and Walsh, LLC will do their best to get you the compensation you deserve for your pain and suffering.