What to Know About Failure to Diagnose Cases

A missed diagnosis occurs when a doctor gives a patient a clean bill of health when, in fact, the patient is suffering from a disease or other medical condition. This is not to be confused with a misdiagnosis, which occurs when a doctor provides a patient with an incorrect diagnosis.

The earlier an illness is correctly diagnosed and treated, the better chance the patient has of recovery. That’s why a delay in diagnosis can directly impact a patient’s chance of rehabilitation and, in some cases, survival. If you have suffered as the direct result of a missed diagnosis, you may have grounds for a medical negligence case — but you’ll need to prove negligence. Here’s what you need to know about failure to diagnose cases.

How do I prove that a doctor’s failure to diagnose caused my injury?

To recover damages for a doctor’s failure to diagnose, you must be able to prove that you were injured as a result of the missed or delayed diagnosis. An injury can be many different things, including the lost chance to treat a serious condition before it became incurable. In medical malpractice lawsuits, patients must prove two things to demonstrate negligence:

• Standard of care. This legal term applies to the generally accepted level of competence that most healthcare physicians would have achieved in similar circumstances. In the case of a missed diagnosis, the relevant question is how long it would have taken a competent physician to have properly diagnosed the illness. In order to prove negligence, the patient will need to establish the standard of care by providing an answer — which often includes testimony from a physician unrelated to the case.
• Violation of the standard of care. The second step in proving negligence by way of a missed diagnosis is to prove that the responsible doctor breached the accepted standard of care. In a failure to diagnose case, a breach is a bit easier to confirm. For example, if the patient can establish that the standard of care required the doctor to diagnose a condition within 24 hours, but it took the physician 72 hours to confirm a diagnosis, a breach of the standard of care can be proven.

What kinds of damages can I claim?

As the victim of someone else’s negligence, you have the right to seek compensation for the costs associated with your injuries. An experienced failure to diagnose lawyer will be able to help recover your losses and hold negligent parties responsible for their actions. Making informed decisions can save you tens, even hundreds, of thousands of dollars for damages including:

• Medical bills. This includes all expenses related to the damages that the missed diagnosis caused, including emergency room visits, treatments and surgeries, and ongoing care.
• Loss of earning capacity. If the failure to diagnose affected your ability to work, you may be able to collect compensation for lost wages and diminished earning capacity.
• Pain and suffering. Some losses are difficult to calculate. This reflects the non-economic damages you suffered as a result of the missed diagnosis, including emotional distress and the loss of enjoyment of life.