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Getting sick or hurt is tough enough without wondering if you got the wrong diagnosis. When a doctor misses something that a reasonably careful one would’ve caught, it might mean the care didn’t meet the standard you deserved. In Pennsylvania, that can turn into a failure to diagnose a claim, a kind of medical malpractice case.
This comes up when a healthcare provider doesn’t spot or catch your condition in time and that slip-up causes real harm. It’s not just about a poor outcome, it’s whether the doctor should’ve reasonably spotted the signs and moved fast to get the diagnosis right.
These claims often involve:
In Pennsylvania, if you can prove the mistake caused real harm, it could qualify as a medical malpractice case.
If a serious issue isn’t caught early, it can spiral, get tougher to treat, or bring on complications that timely care could’ve prevented.
Conditions like cancer or heart disease are way easier to handle when caught soon. A delay or miss lets it advance, leaving you with fewer, more intense options.
Missing the real problem might lead to wrong treatments that bring side effects, complications, or even more injury.
When correct care is delayed, recovery can take longer, Thus, more additional visits or surgeries may be required.
Missed diagnoses often mean more doctor appointments, tests, medications, and time away from work.
To succeed in a failure to diagnose claim, you generally need to show four key elements:
You had a doctor-patient relationship with the healthcare provider.
The provider didn’t act as reasonably careful as one would have in the same situation. In other words, the care fell short of what any competent professional would typically provide.
The failure to diagnose must be shown to have caused harm, meaning if the condition had been diagnosed earlier or correctly, the harm would likely have been avoided.
You must show that you suffered damages, such as medical bills, lost income, pain and suffering, or reduced ability to earn a living.
This process usually requires expert medical testimony to explain both the standard of care and how the provider’s actions fell short.
Here are several situations often seen in failure to diagnose claims:
A patient shows warning signs, but testing isn’t ordered or results are ignored, leading to later discovery of the disease.
Symptoms are attributed to less serious issues, like indigestion, instead of being fully evaluated and the patient later has more serious heart damage.
Symptoms like numbness, confusion, or speech changes are dismissed, and the patient doesn’t receive immediate stroke care.
A serious infection goes untreated because early signs were missed or misinterpreted.
These conditions can be mistaken for stress or fatigue, and the real cause goes untreated for too long.
Here are common ways a failure to diagnose attorney supports your case:
Your lawyer reviews your records and symptoms, identifies gaps in care, and explains whether you may have a valid claim.
Lawyers gather and organize medical files, test results, and treatment notes, making it easier to spot errors.
Your attorney arranges for medical professionals to review your case and provide opinions supporting breach and causation.
Insurance companies often negotiate early. A lawyer handles those talks so you don’t make mistakes that weaken your position.
Many cases settle, but if not, your lawyer can take your claim to court and present evidence to get compensation.
Here’s a clear checklist:
A failure to diagnose can cause significant harm and change your life. You don’t have to figure it out alone. Contact Lowenthal & Abrams, P.C. for a review of what happened. We can help you understand whether you may have a claim and what steps make sense next.
LOWENTHAL AND ABRAMS, P.C.
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