There are three recognized causes of medical misdiagnosis:
Failure to diagnose
Wrong diagnosis
Delayed diagnosis
Achieving a correct diagnosis depends on a physician’s ability to be accurate in their diagnoses, act in a timely manner, and communicate effectively with the patient. The industry’s standard of care for medical patients requires all three of the above. If a medical provider, including a doctor, nurse, member of a healthcare team, or a hospital facility fails in this duty, they can be held liable for damages. Proving liability requires showing the following:
That the medical provider had a provider/patient relationship at the time of the misdiagnosis
That the provider owed a duty of care to the patient to treat them to the industry-accepted standard of care
That they breached this duty by acting negligently
That the negligence directly caused injury to the patient
That the patient suffered significant economic and non-economic damages due to the injury.