Medical Malpractice: Misdiagnosis and the Failure to Diagnose By Zucker & Regev, P.C. on August 10, 2015

When you go to your physician with a set of symptoms, you have every reason to expect that he or she will provide you with a timely and accurate diagnosis based on those symptoms. If your physician fails to do so, then he or she may be held financially liable for any losses and expenses you sustain if you file a medical malpractice claim.

At the Law Office of Gary A. Zucker & Associates, P.C., we have extensive experience and a history of success in handling medical malpractice cases, ranging from the relatively straightforward to the extremely complex. We proudly represent victims of medical malpractice in a variety of case types, including those arising from misdiagnosis and the failure to diagnose. If you or a member of your family has been injured due to your physician’s inability to provide you with a competent diagnosis of a disease or condition, we will fight to obtain every measure of compensation to which you are legally entitled. Likewise, if you have tragically lost a member of your family to such an act of medical negligence, we will file a wrongful death lawsuit on your behalf.

As experts in medical malpractice and misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose cases, our Brooklyn personal injury attorneys would be pleased to evaluate your case and advise you of your legal rights and options. Simply contact the Law Office of Gary A. Zucker & Associates, P.C., today.

When do misdiagnosis and the failure to diagnose constitute medical malpractice?

First, let us make clear that you should not evaluate your own potential medical malpractice case. The information contained in this blog post and in our website is for educational purposes only. Please do not use it to assess the viability of your claim. Only a skilled and experienced attorney, such as the lawyers of Gary A. Zucker & Associates, P.C., should do this.

In general, however, it is important to note that not all instances of misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose will constitute medical malpractice. Physicians and other healthcare providers are held to reasonable standards of care. They are measured against the standards of their competent peers. They are not held to exceptional standards, nor are they faulted for being human and making basic human errors.

However, if they fail to provide care of a reasonable standard, and a patient is injured as a result, the concept of medical malpractice comes into play. As it pertains to misdiagnosis and the failure to diagnose, here is how the reasonable standard of care applies:

A patient presents a set of symptoms that clearly and logically points to one or more possible diagnoses that a competent physician would consider.
Based on these diagnoses, that physician would perform or order certain tests to confirm or rule out possible conditions or diseases.
Based on the results of these tests, the physician would prescribe an appropriate treatment plan or refer the patient to a qualified specialist.
The patient would receive care that would be appropriate to the condition or disease in as timely a manner as possible.

Note that all of the above is based on the actions of a competent physician dealing with a clear set of symptoms, as opposed to an extraordinarily gifted or talented physician responding heroically to obscure symptoms of an obscure disease. Misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose cases generally arise from physicians ignoring or overlooking the complaints of patients who present symptoms typically related to common diseases that require timely diagnosis and treatment in order to achieve the best possible results, including: