As in any other injury case, it is the plaintiff's burden in a medical malpractice case to prove that the doctor was negligent. In medical malpractice cases, courts often define negligence as the physician's failure to exercise the degree of care and skill of the average physician practicing the defendant's specialty, taking into account advances in the profession and the resources available to the defendant.

What is a medical diagnosis?
A medical diagnosis is simply an identification of a medical problem. With respect to more complex situations, a doctor can only say that his or her diagnosis is merely a working assumption regarding the patient's condition until further testing is done.

Is a misdiagnosis always negligence?
Because medical malpractice is based on the general definition of negligence, the actions of the accused physician are judged in relation to the hypothetical "average" physician practicing in the accused physician's specialty.

The determination of whether a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis was negligence also depends on the nature of the case. Misdiagnosis of a simple medical problem may well be negligence, while misdiagnosis of a very complex medical issue may well not be considered negligence.

There are situations and complaints that are quite difficult to identify because the same types of complaints could indicate many different types of conditions. Abdominal pain is a classic example. Someone complaining of abdominal pain could have any number of diseases and conditions ranging from gas to ulcers to diverticulitis to stage IV colon cancer.

Medical textbooks may point out that certain types of conditions are too often misdiagnosed. In this case, misdiagnosis may not amount to medical negligence.

Steps to assess a case of misdiagnosis
Generally, the evaluation of whether a physician was negligent in diagnosing a patient is based on how the physician proceeded in investigating the condition and symptoms reported by the patient. Each step of the physician's evaluation will be compared to the process outlined in medical textbooks and literature.

The physician's minutes and records will be contrasted to determine if the physician has obtained a complete medical history. Obtaining a complete medical history means knowing all about the patient's current complaints and also the past relevant medical history - i.e. obtaining all the information that a reasonable doctor should have obtained in such a case.

The next step is to review the actions the physician took to evaluate the patient's statements and observations - i.e., what tests did the physician perform? If, for example, a doctor did not perform a particular test that is usually performed for a particular set of patient signs and complaints, this certainly can be evidence of negligence.

Then the final step is what did the doctor do with all the information he or she received - i.e. how did he or she put it all together?

Even if you are able to prove that your doctor is responsible for misdiagnosis, you are not yet ready to go to court. Your attorney and the medical experts who will support your claim as witnesses must also show that your lack of proper diagnosis caused you additional harm.

For example, if your doctor did not properly diagnose your breast cancer and this allowed it to spread, the result can be devastating. Misdiagnosis in a case like this can cause serious damage.

Other forms of cancer, however, are just as damaging if they are diagnosed early or not. Misdiagnosis in these types of cases may not have much impact on the outcome, so a malpractice case will have little or no damages to claim.

Types of medical misdiagnosis or undiagnosed diseases
These fall into many different categories ranging from Heart Attack, Stroke, Tumour, Infections, Cancer to Delayed Diagnosis.

What compensation is a patient entitled to in an incomplete diagnosis case?
If a patient can prove that a doctor made a misdiagnosis, the patient is entitled to recover all damages associated with that misdiagnosis.

These damages will include the additional medical expenses the patient incurred prior to the correct diagnosis as well as the pain, suffering, pain and suffering he or she endured as a result of the misdiagnosis, including damages for any permanent disabilities and injuries suffered as a result of the misdiagnosis.

In addition, if the patient's life expectancy was reduced due to the delay in obtaining the correct diagnosis, the patient would be entitled to additional compensation for loss of enjoyment of life.

If a patient dies due to an incorrect or delayed diagnosis, his/her loved ones may also be able to support a lawsuit.

Please note that there are time limits for submitting your claim so if you are concerned about a medical malpractice issue, please contact us directly to discuss your case without any obligation or financial commitment. You can also set up a meeting through our secretariat at +30 210 6452133

For more information on how we deal comprehensively with the issue of medical malpractice see here
More specifically on the issue of pharmaceutical errors see here

In particular on the issue of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis see here
On the issue of misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of cancer see here
For medical errors in pregnancy and obstetrics see here
More generally, for medical surgical errors see here
More specifically for medical errors in plastic surgery see here