My doctor misdiagnosed a torn Achilles. Is this malpractice?

Mis diagnosis of a torn achilles, or any other type of misdiagnosis, can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit in certain instances. However, a lawsuit based on a misdiagnosis can be one of the more difficult lawsuits to prove. 

Understanding why a mis-diagnosis lawsuit is hard to prove involves an understanding of medical malpractice law. Under medical malpractice law, the plaintiff is assigned the burden of proving his or her case. This means he or she must prove all essential required elements of the medical malpractice tort. Two of the most important elements of this tort are:

• That the physician was negligent. Negligence is determined by demonstrating that the care fell short of the level that a reasonable doctor would have provided given the situation. In this instance, if a reasonable physician in the same field would have identified the torn achilles, then it may be viewed as unreasonable- and thus negligent- that your physician did not do so. 
• That the negligence of the physician was a direct/but for cause of harm. This can be the trickiest aspect of a misdiagnosis case. The doctor can argue that the exact same result would have occurred even if he had diagnosed the condition on time, and that any damage you suffered was the result not of his negligent misdiagnosis but of the injury itself. It will be your burden as the plaintiff to successfully prove that you suffered some kind of damage (like greater pain, more injury or more difficult treatment) as a direct result of the negligent misdiagnosis. 

To be successful, you will need legal help proving your claim. It is imperative you hire a lawyer as soon as possible to ensure you get the best possible result.