Holding a Doctor Liable for an Incorrect Diagnosis

In order to hold a doctor liable for an incorrect diagnosis, patients will be required to prove several integral legal elements before the doctor’s liability can become the basis of a viable medical malpractice claim. These three elements include establishing the existence of a doctor-patient relationship, proving the doctor in question was negligent, and establishing that a given doctor’s negligence was the cause of actual damages in a patient. 

Establishing the Doctor-Patient Relationship

In the vast majority of incorrect diagnosis cases, establishing that a doctor and patient relationship existed is relatively easy. Any doctor offering a diagnosis to a patient will most likely be found to be in a doctor-patient relationship with the patient. However, establishing a viable malpractice claim typically hinges on proving the second and third elements.

Proving Doctor Negligence

The crux of most incorrect diagnosis medical malpractice claims rely on proving physician or healthcare professional negligence. An incorrect diagnosis, in and of itself, may not constitute negligence. The following steps are used by doctors to evaluate a patient and reach a diagnosis, which is known the differential diagnosis method:

• Evaluate a patient for physical symptoms, as well as take down information from the patient regarding their symptoms

• From this information, a physician will come to a list of potential diagnoses that fit the profile of a patient’s complaints, which are ordered from most likely to least likely

• Each of these diagnoses must be ruled out systematically through further inquires with the patient, medical tests, or observing the patient further

• Following a complete investigation, the physician will have only one remaining diagnosis, which they cannot rule out or they are able to confirm through testing

Though this process is generally successful, not all ailments and medical conditions are readily apparent to the physician, or in other cases, the symptoms may not relay sufficient information to include a given diagnosis in the differential diagnosis list. The key to determining doctor negligence relies on proving that any other doctor, while working with the same patient and under the same conditions, would have arrived at a different diagnosis, the correct diagnosis. This may stem from a doctor not including a correct diagnosis in their initial differential diagnosis list, which a reasonably competent physician would have done, or it may stem from a physician not taking sufficient steps to rule out a given diagnosis, which another reasonable physician would have done.

A number of variables can influence negligence determinations, and in turn liability, as well. For example, factors such as the existence of more pressing injuries, emergency room care situations, faulty diagnostic equipment, and other attributes may decrease the viability of a negligence claim. However, the main standard would still cling to whether a doctor performed to a standard duty of care.  

Establishing Proximate Cause and Damages

Even if a misdiagnosis has occurred, in order to present a viable malpractice claim, patients must demonstrate that the misdiagnosis was the proximate cause of damages. In other words, did the misdiagnosis harm a given patient? In most cases, this will require a medical expert’s testimony regarding the medical damages or risks incurred by a patient, or in rare cases, an outline of emotional damages suffered by a patient following a particularly grave wrong diagnosis.

Getting Legal Help

Patients considering making medical malpractice claims against healthcare providers will need the assistance of an attorney. In most cases, the doctor in question will likely be backed by an insurance company or healthcare company with ample resources to dedicate to defeating a medical malpractice claim. In order to achieve any form of favorable outcome to their claim, patients are strongly advised to seek legal counsel before making any statements to their doctor or other potential defendants in an impending malpractice suit.