Most people trust that when they visit a doctor, they’ll leave with clarity, answers, and the right treatment plan. But when that trust is broken—because a diagnosis is missed, delayed, or simply wrong—the consequences can be serious or even life-threatening. It’s common to ask, What if a doctor misdiagnosed me? And is misdiagnosis considered medical malpractice?
The answer: It depends.
At Poulos & Coates, we help individuals and families across New Mexico understand whether their experience with a medical provider crosses the legal line into misdiagnosis malpractice. If you believe a healthcare provider’s mistake caused significant harm, this blog will help clarify your rights and when to seek legal support.
What Is a Misdiagnosis?
A misdiagnosis occurs when a healthcare provider incorrectly identifies a patient’s condition. Instead of accurately diagnosing what is wrong, the provider either gives the wrong diagnosis, overlooks the illness entirely, or attributes symptoms to a condition the patient doesn’t have.
Common examples include:
- Diagnosing a heart attack as indigestion or anxiety,
- Dismissing early cancer symptoms as a benign illness,
- Mistaking a stroke for a migraine or vertigo, and
- Failing to identify infections like sepsis or meningitis in time.
When a provider fails to take appropriate steps, like ordering tests, reviewing records, or referring to a specialist, and a patient is seriously harmed as a result, that misdiagnosis may become a legal issue.
When Does Misdiagnosis Become Medical Negligence?
A misdiagnosis is not automatically grounds for a malpractice lawsuit. In the legal system, not every error is considered negligence. However, when a doctor or healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care, and that failure results in harm, the misdiagnosis may rise to the level of medical negligence.
In legal terms, a misdiagnosis becomes medical malpractice when it meets the following four elements of negligence.
1. Duty of Care
Every medical provider has a legal duty of care to their patients. This duty arises as soon as a provider-patient relationship is established. Whether you’re visiting a primary care physician, an emergency room doctor, or a specialist, the provider is expected to offer the level of skill, care, and diligence that a reasonably competent provider in their field would provide under similar circumstances.
2. Breach of Duty
A breach of duty occurs when the healthcare provider fails to act in accordance with that standard. In misdiagnosis cases, a breach may happen if the doctor:
- Dismisses symptoms without proper evaluation;
- Fails to order appropriate diagnostic tests;
- Misreads lab results or imaging;
- Ignores medical history or risk factors; or
- Fails to consult a specialist.
The key question in this step is, Would a reasonably careful doctor in the same situation have made the same error? If not, the provider may have breached their duty of care.
3. Causation
To prove medical negligence, it’s not enough to show that a doctor made a mistake. You must also show that the breach directly caused harm. This concept is known as causation. You must demonstrate that the misdiagnosis was incidental and caused further injuries.
For example:
- A delayed cancer diagnosis may have allowed the disease to progress to a later, less treatable stage;
- Misdiagnosing a heart attack could lead to permanent heart damage or death because emergency treatment was not administered; and
- A missed infection, like sepsis, could cause irreversible organ damage due to untreated progression.
An experienced medical malpractice lawyer can help gather expert testimony and medical evidence to clearly link the misdiagnosis to the harm you suffered.
4. Damages
Finally, the patient must have suffered actual damages due to the misdiagnosis. These damages can be physical, emotional, or financial. In other words, the mistake must have caused real, measurable harm.
These can include:
- Physical injuries made worse by the delay or incorrect treatment;
- Increased medical expenses for corrective procedures or prolonged care;
- Loss of income or future earning capacity due to a worsened condition;
- Pain and suffering, including chronic discomfort, loss of quality of life, or emotional trauma; and
- Wrongful death, when a misdiagnosis leads to a fatal outcome.
The severity of your damages will often determine the potential value of your claim, and documenting them thoroughly is key to building a strong malpractice case.
Is a Failure to Diagnose the Same as a Misdiagnosis?
A failure to diagnose is related to misdiagnosis, but they are not identical. Let’s break it down:
- Misdiagnosis. This means the provider gave an incorrect diagnosis. For example, a doctor might misdiagnose a patient when they identify their illness as the flu when it was actually pneumonia.
- Failure to diagnose. This means the provider didn’t recognize or diagnose the condition, despite the symptoms. For example, imagine a situation where a nurse ignores a patient’s symptoms of appendicitis and sends them home without treatment.
Both can lead to serious health consequences, especially if early treatment is essential for survival or recovery. Whether it’s a misdiagnosis or a failure to diagnose, the key legal question is the same: Did the provider act within the standard of care?
What If a Doctor Misdiagnosed Me, But I Recovered?
It’s important to know that not all misdiagnoses result in a valid legal claim. If your doctor made a mistake but you experienced no harm, or if the error was caught quickly with no measurable consequences, there may not be grounds for a malpractice case.
To bring a successful claim, you must be able to prove that the misdiagnosis led to:
- A significant delay in treatment,
- A worsened prognosis,
- Additional complications or procedures,
- Higher medical costs,
- Permanent disability or loss of function, or
- Death.
If you’re unsure whether your situation qualifies, speaking with a medical malpractice attorney can help clarify your legal options.
Talk to a Misdiagnosis Malpractice Lawyer in New Mexico
If a misdiagnosis or failure to diagnose changed your life, you deserve more than answers. You deserve accountability. At Poulos & Coates, we’ve spent decades handling medical malpractice claims exclusively and bring more than 100 years of combined experience to every case.
Our team includes an in-house medical doctor and two nurses, allowing us to evaluate your situation thoroughly before involving outside experts. We work on a contingency basis, so you pay nothing unless we recover compensation for you.
Contact Poulos & Coates today at 575-523-4444 to schedule a free consultation. If you’re wondering whether your case qualifies as misdiagnosis malpractice, we’re here to help you understand your options and take the next step forward.
Victor Poulos
Vic Poulos & Greig Coates became law partners in April of 2002, when the two medical malpractice litigators merged their offices, combining what is now over seventy years of litigation experience, to form Poulos & Coates, LLP. Licensed to practice before all State Courts of Texas, New Mexico, Iowa, and Kansas. Licensed to practice before the United States District Courts of Kansas, Iowa, New Mexico, and Texas (Western, Eastern, Southern, and Northern Districts of Texas), as well as the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit and the U.X. Ax Court.
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