Last updated on October 31st, 2025 at 10:59 am
Think about the last time you made a mistake at work. Perhaps you miscalculated inventory or misaddressed an email that went to a supervisor instead of a colleague. These errors are common and, fortunately, can be rectified quickly.
Now consider the medical field. Suppose a medical condition is misdiagnosed, diagnosed too late, or missed entirely. This can have significant health consequences for the patient, impacting their quality of life and causing immense physical, mental, and emotional pain. These mistakes are known as diagnostic errors in healthcare. Unfortunately, they’re increasingly common, with one recent Mayo Clinic study finding that only 13% of patients surveyed initially received the correct diagnosis. The law recognizes these injuries’ devastating impact by allowing claims for medical negligence to proceed where healthcare providers fail to meet the standard of care. Luckily, doctors and hospitals have insurance policies that protect them when medical mistakes lead to bad outcomes.
We’ll explain diagnostic errors, how they can impact patients, and in what situations they can cause a medical malpractice case.
Explaining Diagnostic Errors in Healthcare
A diagnostic error in healthcare refers to a mistake made while diagnosing a patient.
These errors can happen at any stage — from failing to consider a diagnosis to misinterpreting test results or not following up on symptoms. Unlike simple workplace errors, the stakes here are extraordinarily high. A missed or delayed diagnosis can lead to inappropriate treatments, worsening conditions, and sometimes irreversible harm.
According to the Society to Improve Diagnosis in Medicine, 10% to 20% of autopsies reveal significant diagnostic errors, which suggests that up to 80,000 patients annually die from factors related to diagnostic errors.
Understanding the nature of these errors is crucial not only for healthcare professionals striving to improve patient care but also for patients and their families navigating the complexities of the healthcare system.
There are three categories of diagnostic errors that have been identified:
- Delayed diagnosis – a diagnosis that should have been made much earlier.
- Wrong diagnosis – an incorrect diagnosis leading to treatment for the wrong issue.
- Missed diagnosis – a diagnosis missed entirely.
How Diagnostic Errors in Healthcare Can Lead to a Medical Malpractice Suit
While patients who have experienced diagnostic errors want to ensure they are compensated for their physical, mental, and emotional harm, there are only specific scenarios where these errors are recognized as malpractice.
Some factors that may affect whether a diagnostic error can be considered medical malpractice include:
Negligence Means a Breach of the Standard of Care
Negligence means your healthcare provider failed to act as a reasonably competent professional under similar circumstances. Simply making a mistake isn’t enough — there must be an apparent deviation from the standard of care expected in that situation.
A breach of the standard of care occurs when a healthcare provider’s actions fall below the accepted medical practice expected from professionals in their field. This standard is determined by comparing the provider’s actions to their peers under similar circumstances. This test is not a simple one to meet, though. It is insufficient to prove that another physician would have done it better or differently.
Injury or Harm Caused
Even if negligence is proven, a diagnostic error must have directly caused injury or harm to the patient for it to be considered malpractice. This harm could range from unnecessary surgeries and treatments to worsening a condition that should have been treated earlier.
Scope of Damages
Even where injury results from medical error, the inquiry is not over. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will understand how to translate an injury into the actual cost and lifelong burden it brings to the injured person. Factors relevant to the amount of damages are the cost of past medical expenses, the cost of projected future medical expenses, the lost wages or earning capacity caused by the injury, the pain suffered by the patient, and whether the injury is permanent.
Let the Attorneys at Garmey Law Help You
If you’re dealing with a diagnostic error that has affected your health, you don’t have to suffer alone. The nationally acclaimed personal injury lawyers at Garmey Law are here to help you work through the process so you can access the total compensation available to you. Contact us today for help on your medical malpractice suit.