Personal Injury Law

Is a misdiagnosis malpractice?

By Ben Glass

What happens when you learn that the first diagnosis that your doctor made is wrong? What if you took medication that has been harmful to you that you didn't need to take because the diagnosis was missed? What if they delay in making the correct diagnosis has cost you the chance of a cure?

While all of these situations may seem to have an obvious answer they're not necessarily medical malpractice. Doctors are judged by the "standard of care" and that means that their decisions are deemed to be malpractice only if they fell outside of the range of decisions that a reasonably prudent physician in a similar situation and similarly trained would have made.

Generally, you are medical malpractice attorney must find an experienced physician in the same or similar specialty as the doctor who made the misdiagnosis who will examine the medical records and render an opinion as to whether the first doctor's care fell outside the "standard of care." Only when it does to you potentially have a medical malpractice claim.

Remember, each case is different and must be examined on its own merits.

Full post as published by Northern Virginia Personal Injury Lawyer on August 21, 2008 (boomark / email).