Is my doctor negligent for failure to diagnose a heart condition?

The malpractice you describe falls under the legal area of "failure to diagnose", which often leads to medical complications and attendant costs that might have been avoided with a timely diagnosis. Since the majority (approximately 40%) of medical malpractice suits involve misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, and failure to diagnose, your case is definitely a legitimate claim.

Physicians are held to a appropriate standard of care, which includes properly diagnosing conditions that are familiarly known to the medical community. Most heart murmurs are detectable with a standard stethoscope. Under the reasonable medical standard, your doctor should have been able to diagnose your murmur and taken preventive measures to forestall any complications. Therefore, you have a legitimate claim to pursue.

As with any lawsuit for compensation, an experienced attorney will know how to calculate not only your medical costs, but also any loss of work and quantifiable suffering that has resulted from your doctor's failure to diagnose.

Talk to a Medical Malpractice Attorney to find out what legal options you have to seek compensation for the doctors error.