A wrong diagnosis can change the course of a person’s health. A patient may receive unnecessary treatment, lose valuable time before receiving the right care, or suffer complications because a serious condition went untreated.
In Maryland, however, a misdiagnosis does not automatically amount to medical malpractice. A patient generally must show that a healthcare provider failed to meet the applicable standard of care and that this failure caused an injury. Schlachman, Belsky, Weiner & Davey, P.A. represents patients and families in complex medical malpractice cases throughout Maryland.
When Does a Misdiagnosis Become Medical Malpractice?
A diagnosis is not always straightforward. Different illnesses can produce similar symptoms, test results can be inconclusive, and some diseases develop in ways that make them difficult to detect.
For that reason, a doctor is not necessarily negligent simply because an initial diagnosis turns out to be wrong. Medical malpractice may arise when the diagnostic process falls below the level of care reasonably expected under the circumstances and causes preventable harm.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality describes a diagnostic error as a failure to establish an accurate and timely explanation of a patient's health problem or to communicate that explanation to the patient.
What Must a Patient Prove in a Maryland Misdiagnosis Case?
A medical malpractice claim based on misdiagnosis typically requires evidence addressing several connected issues. The precise legal standards and how they apply to an individual claim should be reviewed by a Maryland attorney.
A Healthcare Provider Owed the Patient a Duty of Care
A doctor-patient relationship generally establishes a professional duty of care. Other providers, including hospitals, specialists, radiologists, nurses, or laboratories, may also have responsibilities depending on their role in the patient's care.
Determining responsibility can be complicated when several providers participated in diagnosis and treatment. SBWD Law discusses this issue further in its guide to whether hospitals or doctors may be responsible for malpractice.
The Provider Departed From the Standard of Care
The central question is usually not whether another physician could have reached a different diagnosis. Instead, the issue is whether the provider acted as an appropriately qualified healthcare professional should have acted under similar circumstances.
Possible departures from the standard of care may include failing to order appropriate testing, overlooking significant symptoms, misreading diagnostic studies, failing to follow up on abnormal results, or failing to refer a patient to an appropriate specialist.
The Misdiagnosis Caused Additional Harm
Even when a provider makes a mistake, a malpractice case generally requires more than the mistake itself. The patient must connect the provider's conduct to an injury.
For example, a delayed diagnosis could allow a disease to progress, reduce available treatment options, require more aggressive treatment, or cause complications that likely could have been avoided with appropriate care.
What Are Common Examples of Medical Misdiagnosis?
Misdiagnosis can occur in primary care offices, emergency departments, hospitals, specialty practices, and other healthcare settings. Some cases involve a completely incorrect diagnosis, while others involve a failure to recognize an illness until it has significantly progressed.
Examples may include:
- Diagnosing indigestion when symptoms warrant evaluation for a heart condition
- Missing signs of stroke or another neurological emergency
- Failing to identify cancer despite concerning symptoms or test results
- Treating an infection as a minor viral illness when further evaluation is indicated
- Misinterpreting X-rays, CT scans, MRIs, pathology results, or laboratory tests
- Failing to follow up after an abnormal screening or test result
SBWD Law has previously discussed how a doctor's failure to properly diagnose a patient can become the basis of a malpractice claim when the delay results in additional injury.
Why Can Delayed Diagnosis Cause Serious Harm?
Timing matters for many medical conditions. A delay that makes little difference in one case can substantially affect another patient's outcome.
For example, the CDC explains that rapid recognition and treatment of stroke can be critical because certain treatments depend on how quickly the patient reaches medical care. Likewise, cancer diagnosis can influence staging and treatment decisions.
A delayed diagnosis does not by itself establish negligence. Medical records and qualified expert review are generally necessary to determine what should have occurred and whether earlier appropriate care probably would have changed the patient's outcome.
Can Cancer Misdiagnosis Lead to a Malpractice Claim?
Cancer-related diagnostic errors can be particularly serious because treatment decisions often depend on the type, location, and stage of the disease. The National Cancer Institute explains that diagnostic tools help determine a cancer's origin, stage, subtype, and treatment options.
A malpractice case could potentially involve failure to investigate a suspicious mass, failure to order further testing after an abnormal screening, incorrect interpretation of a biopsy, or failure to communicate results. Whether any particular mistake constitutes malpractice depends on the medical evidence and its effect on the patient's condition.
Who Can Be Responsible for a Misdiagnosis?
A physician may be one potential defendant, but diagnostic errors can involve several people or organizations.
Depending on the circumstances, responsibility could involve an emergency-room physician, primary-care doctor, specialist, radiologist, pathologist, laboratory, hospital, or another healthcare provider. Identifying every potentially responsible party may require a careful review of medical records, test orders, reports, referrals, and communications among providers.
Concerns about broader hospital practices may also be relevant in some cases, particularly when communication or system failures contribute to delayed care. SBWD Law provides additional information about hospital safety and preventable medical errors in Maryland.
How Long Do You Have to File a Misdiagnosis Lawsuit in Maryland?
Maryland imposes specific time limits on medical malpractice actions. Under Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 5-109, an action for an injury arising from a healthcare provider's professional services generally must be filed within the earlier of five years from when the injury was committed or three years from when the injury was discovered.
Misdiagnosis cases can make calculating the deadline especially complicated because a patient may not immediately realize that an earlier diagnosis was incorrect. SBWD Law explains additional considerations in its overview of factors affecting Maryland medical malpractice statutes of limitations.
Does Maryland Require an Expert for a Medical Malpractice Claim?
Expert evidence frequently plays a significant role in medical malpractice litigation because jurors generally need medical context to determine what an appropriate provider should have done.
Maryland also has specific procedural requirements for healthcare malpractice claims. Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-2A-04 addresses filing with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office and, in covered cases, a certificate from a qualified expert addressing departure from the standard of care and causation.
What Evidence Can Help Establish a Misdiagnosis Claim?
A malpractice investigation may involve medical charts, imaging studies, laboratory results, pathology reports, prescription records, referrals, communications, and records from later providers who ultimately reached the correct diagnosis.
An attorney may also consult qualified medical experts to evaluate what information was available to the provider, what further testing or treatment was reasonably indicated, and whether the alleged diagnostic failure caused additional harm.
Patients who suspect malpractice should preserve their records and avoid assuming that a poor outcome alone proves negligence.
Speak With a Maryland Medical Malpractice Attorney
When a missed or incorrect diagnosis causes serious harm, determining what went wrong often requires both legal and medical analysis. Schlachman, Belsky, Weiner & Davey, P.A. can review the circumstances, medical records, and potential legal issues involved in a suspected diagnostic-error case.
If you believe you or a loved one suffered harm because of a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis in Maryland, contact SBWD Law to discuss your situation. Call (410) 685-2022 to request a confidential consultation.
Frequently Asked Questions About Misdiagnosis in Maryland
Is Every Wrong Diagnosis Medical Malpractice?
No. A diagnosis can be incorrect without being negligent. A viable malpractice case generally depends on whether the healthcare provider departed from the applicable standard of care and whether that departure caused injury.
Can I Sue if My Doctor Failed to Order a Test?
Potentially. The question is whether an appropriately qualified provider would have ordered the test under similar circumstances and whether the failure to do so caused harm.
Can I Have a Case if Another Doctor Later Found the Correct Diagnosis?
Possibly. A later diagnosis may help identify what happened, but it does not automatically prove that the earlier provider committed malpractice. The timing, symptoms, available information, standard of care, and resulting injury all matter.
