A correct diagnosis is supposed to be the starting point of good care, not something a patient has to fight for.
When a doctor misses, delays, or gets a diagnosis wrong, the cost is rarely just time, it’s often the difference between a treatable condition and a life-altering one.
Gilbert Law Firm represents Washington patients and families who suspect a missed or delayed diagnosis changed the course of their health. We know how to work with independent physicians to find out whether the diagnostic process actually met the standard of care, or fell short of it.
Our Washington Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis Services
A missed or delayed diagnosis can allow a treatable condition to become life-threatening. Medical negligence occurs when a doctor fails to follow the accepted diagnostic process or ignores critical information in a patient’s chart, resulting in the wrong diagnosis, or no diagnosis at all.
Misdiagnosis vs. Delayed Diagnosis vs. Failure to Diagnose
These terms describe related but distinct problems. Misdiagnosis means a provider identified the wrong condition entirely. Delayed diagnosis means the correct diagnosis was eventually made, but not as quickly as the standard of care required, allowing a condition to worsen in the meantime. Failure to diagnose means a condition that should have been identified was missed altogether.
How Common Is Diagnostic Error?
Diagnostic error is more common than most patients realize. A landmark 2015 report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, Improving Diagnosis in Health Care, concluded that most people will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, and that a conservative estimate finds roughly 5% of U.S. adults who seek outpatient care each year experience a diagnostic error.
Washington's "Loss of Chance" Doctrine
Washington law recognizes a legal theory known as loss of chance, first established in Herskovits v. Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound and later extended by the Washington Supreme Court in Mohr v. Grantham. Under this doctrine, a patient may be able to pursue a claim when a provider’s negligence reduced their chance of a better outcome or survival, even if that chance was already less than fifty percent before the negligence occurred.
Conditions Most Often Misdiagnosed
- Cancer, particularly in its early stages
- Heart attack and other cardiac events
- Stroke
- Sepsis
- Appendicitis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Meningitis
What Our Washington Clients Say
Our Washington Misdiagnosis Case Process
- Step One – Tell Us What Happened: Schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We’ll listen to your story and give you an honest assessment of whether a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis may have occurred.
- Step Two – We Investigate With Independent Medical Experts: We obtain your full medical record and consult with independent physicians in the relevant specialty to determine whether the standard of care for diagnosis was met.
- Step Three: We Hold the Provider Accountable: Once we take your case, we bring in independent physicians in the relevant specialty to walk through your symptoms, your test results, and the full timeline of your care. We use that record to negotiate directly with the provider, the hospital, and their insurers, and we’re prepared to take the case to trial if they won’t acknowledge what was missed. We have taken on some of the largest hospital systems in the country on behalf of patients who were failed by their diagnosis.
Frequently Asked Questions About Misdiagnosis in Washington
What's the difference between misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis?
Misdiagnosis means a provider identified the wrong condition. Delayed diagnosis means the correct diagnosis was eventually reached, but later than the standard of care required, allowing the condition to worsen.
What conditions are most commonly misdiagnosed?
Cancer, heart attack, stroke, sepsis, appendicitis, pulmonary embolism, and meningitis are among the conditions most frequently involved in misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis claims.
Is every misdiagnosis considered malpractice?
Medicine involves risk, and not every complication or poor outcome is the result of negligence. Medical malpractice requires proof that a provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care, not simply that the outcome was disappointing or unexpected. A plaintiff generally must establish that the healthcare provider failed to exercise the degree of care, skill, and learning expected of a reasonably prudent healthcare provider at that time and in the same or similar circumstances, and that this failure was a proximate cause of the injury.
What is Washington's "loss of chance" doctrine?
It is a legal theory that allows a patient to pursue a claim when a provider’s negligence reduced their chance of a better outcome or survival, even if the odds were already against them before the negligence occurred.
How do I prove my diagnosis was delayed due to negligence?
Proving a delayed diagnosis claim generally requires an independent medical expert who can review your symptoms, test results, and the timeline of your care, and explain when and how a competent provider should have reached the correct diagnosis.
Can a delayed cancer diagnosis be grounds for a malpractice claim?
Yes, if a provider failed to order appropriate testing, misread results, or dismissed symptoms that a reasonably competent provider would have investigated further, and that delay worsened the patient’s prognosis or treatment options.
Do I need a medical expert to prove medical negligence?
In most cases, yes. Expert testimony is generally required to establish the accepted standard of care and to show how a provider’s actions fell short of it. An experienced medical malpractice attorney will know which medical experts to consult for your specific case.
How long do I have to file a misdiagnosis claim in Washington?
Generally, you have three years from the date of the injury, or one year from when you discover, or reasonably should have discovered, the injury, whichever period is longer. There is also generally an eight-year statute of repose, though exceptions may apply in cases involving fraud, concealment, or a foreign object left in the body.
Get Started on Your Washington Misdiagnosis Case Today
If a missed or delayed diagnosis changed the course of your health, you deserve a straight answer about what happened and why.
Contact the Gilbert Law Firm today for a free, no-obligation consultation.
Schedule a free consultation now to tell us about your case, or fill out the form:
