Misdiagnosis Lawsuit Guide 2024 – Forbes Advisor

Many different kinds of misdiagnosis can occur. Here are some of the most common diagnostic errors a medical care provider could make.

Missed Diagnosis

A missed diagnosis occurs when a doctor fails to correctly identify the medical problem you are having. Usually, this occurs because the doctor misses important information, doesn’t listen to your symptoms or fails to order tests that are indicated based on your medical issues.

For example, if you go to a doctor and explain you are having certain symptoms that could indicate a stroke or cancer and the doctor dismisses your concerns and sends you home without proper testing, this is an example of a missed diagnosis.

Incorrect Diagnosis

An incorrect diagnosis happens when a doctor diagnoses you with the wrong medical condition. If a doctor says you have heartburn and you are really having a heart attack, this is an example of an incorrect diagnosis.

Delayed Diagnosis

If a doctor takes an unreasonably long time to diagnose a medical condition, this is considered a delayed diagnosis. For example, a doctor may fail to follow up on the results of a lab test that show a patient has cancer.

Failure to Recognize Related Conditions

Failure to recognize related conditions occurs when a doctor correctly diagnoses one medical issue but fails to notice, or test for, related conditions. For example, if a doctor diagnoses neuropathy but doesn’t diagnose diabetes which often results in more severe neuropathy, this is a failure to diagnose a related condition.

Failure to Recognize Unrelated Conditions

Doctors should try to identify all medical problems causing a patient harm. If a doctor diagnoses one medical issue contributing to health problems but not other unrelated issues that are also affecting the patient, this is a form of misdiagnosis.