When medical care goes wrong, the terms delayed diagnosis vs misdiagnosis usually come up. To a patient, both experiences can feel the same. You trusted your doctor, but they missed something important. Now you’re facing new treatments, more serious health problems, or a more prolonged recovery because the correct diagnosis came too late, or never came at all.
These cases happen more frequently than many people realize. Understanding the difference between delayed diagnosis vs misdiagnosis matters because it helps clarify what went wrong, why it happened, and whether the provider can be held accountable. Both scenarios can lead to a medical malpractice claim, but your next steps depend on the details of your medical history.
Poulos & Coates handles these cases every day. Our practice focuses only on medical malpractice, including diagnostic errors. If you’re asking, “Who can help with my case?”, the answer is a law firm that knows how to review the medical records and the legal standards involved.
Here’s what to know about the difference between misdiagnoses and delayed diagnoses.
What Is a Misdiagnosis?
A misdiagnosis happens when a healthcare provider gives the wrong answer for your symptoms. The doctor might diagnose you with one condition when you actually have another. A misdiagnosis can lead to the wrong treatment, no treatment at all, or procedures that were never needed.
For example:
- A doctor tells you that your chest pain is indigestion when you’re actually having a heart attack;
- A lump is diagnosed as a benign cyst when it’s cancer; or
- A stroke is mistaken for vertigo or another less serious condition.
When doctors make these errors, they leave the real medical problem untreated and send the patient down the wrong path. This can cause additional harm, including complications from missed care, side effects from unnecessary medications, or long-term health problems that better care could have prevented.
What Is a Delayed Diagnosis?
A delayed diagnosis happens when the healthcare provider eventually reaches the correct conclusion, but not soon enough to prevent additional harm. The diagnosis is accurate, but it arrives too late to stop the condition from worsening.
Examples include:
- A cancer diagnosis made months or years after early signs appeared;
- A doctor who dismisses initial symptoms, then diagnoses the condition after it has progressed; or
- A patient returns to the emergency room multiple times before receiving the correct diagnosis for a heart condition, stroke, or infection.
These diagnostic failures usually involve missed tests, overlooked lab results, or warning signs not addressed in time. Delays give the illness time to progress, which can result in more invasive treatments, longer recoveries, or permanent damage that earlier care might have prevented.
Does a Delayed Diagnosis Count as Malpractice?
Both misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis can be grounds for a medical malpractice claim, but not every medical mistake is considered malpractice. Under New Mexico law, the case must meet certain legal standards to qualify as malpractice.
In general, you must show that:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed. This shows that the provider had a legal responsibility to evaluate and treat your condition appropriately.
- The healthcare provider failed to meet the standard of care. This means they made a mistake that another qualified provider would not have made under the same circumstances.
- The mistake caused harm. This could include requiring additional procedures, a worsened medical condition, or lasting complications from delayed treatment.
Whether the issue involves misdiagnosis or delay, the key question is whether the provider’s actions—or lack of action—fell below acceptable medical standards. Not every delay is malpractice. Sometimes, symptoms are difficult to detect early on. When doctors overlook clear warning signs or skip basic diagnostic steps, they may be held legally accountable.
Why the Difference Matters in a Legal Case
Patients often ask about delayed diagnosis vs misdiagnosis because they want to know whether the details of what happened affect their legal claim. The answer is yes—the difference matters because it changes how the case is investigated and explained in court.
For example:
- A misdiagnosis case involves proving that the provider made the wrong call, despite having access to information that pointed to the correct diagnosis; and
- A delayed diagnosis case focuses on the failure to act in time, such as not ordering a test, not referring the patient to a specialist, or not following up on abnormal results.
Both types of diagnostic error require a thorough review of the medical records, test results, and provider notes. Sometimes the facts overlap. A patient may experience both misdiagnosis and delay, especially if the first diagnosis was wrong and the correct one took months or years to arrive.
How to Sue for Misdiagnosis or Delay
If you’re considering legal action, you may wonder how to sue for misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis in New Mexico. The steps are similar for both kinds of diagnostic error:
- Request your medical records. These documents, including test results, appointments, and provider notes, tell the story of your care.
- Get an expert review. Medical experts can review your records to determine whether the provider missed something another doctor would have found.
- Consult with a malpractice attorney. A law firm that handles medical cases can explain your legal options and whether your situation meets the standard for a malpractice claim.
- File the case with the New Mexico Medical Review Commission. Before you can file a lawsuit in court, you must present the claim to the review commission for evaluation.
Poulos & Coates handles each step of this process. Our attorneys, medical doctor, and nursing staff review the facts and prepare the case for both the commission review and potential court filing.
Talk to Poulos & Coates About Your Case
If you’re dealing with a missed or delayed diagnosis, it’s natural to have questions about what happened and your options. You may still be wondering about the difference between delayed diagnosis vs misdiagnosis, or whether the facts of your case qualify as malpractice.
Poulos & Coates focuses solely on medical malpractice claims, including diagnostic errors. Our team includes a licensed medical doctor, nurses, and attorneys with decades of experience handling these cases throughout New Mexico.
We’re here to review your case, explain your options, and help you decide what to do next. Contact Poulos & Coates today at 575-523-4444 for a free consultation.
Greig Coates, M.D., J.D.
Over the last thirty years, Dr. Coates has successfully represented plaintiffs in every conceivable type of medical malpractice lawsuit–from single-physician cases to complex litigation involving over a dozen doctors and several hospitals. Dr. Coates has taken several thousand physician depositions in his career involving every known physician specialty and sub-specialty, and almost as many depositions involving hospital personnel such as nurses, techs, and administrators. He has tried several dozen cases to successful verdicts.
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