Being misdiagnosed can leave you with a whirlwind of emotions and uncertainty over what to do next. You may have spent weeks or months treating the wrong condition – taking the wrong medication and unknowingly delaying treatment for the real problem. Or you may just feel like something still isn’t right, even after being told there’s nothing more to do.
Whatever the case may be, your health is the first priority. If you believe you were misdiagnosed, the most important thing is to get the right diagnosis and treatment plan as soon as possible. Legal questions may come up later, but right now you need to make sure your health is moving in a better direction.
Get medical help
If your symptoms are severe or getting worse, don’t wait to sort out what happened with the first diagnosis. Go to the emergency room, call your doctor, or seek immediate medical care.
This is especially important if you’re dealing with any of the following:
- Chest pain
- Trouble breathing
- Sudden weakness
- Signs of stroke
- Severe pain
- Uncontrolled bleeding
- High fever
- Confusion
Once you’re stable, you can begin looking at whether the earlier diagnosis was wrong and what should happen next. But the first step is making sure you’re safe now.
Get a second opinion
A second opinion can be one of the most useful steps after a possible misdiagnosis. Another doctor may see something that was missed or order different tests. They’ll likely want to review your symptoms more carefully and dig deeper.
When you schedule the second opinion, be honest about your concerns. Explain what diagnosis you were given, what treatment you received, and what happened. If your condition is complex – which, based on the misdiagnosis, it probably is – it may make sense to see a specialist.
Collect your medical records
Your medical records are important for both treatment and any possible legal review. They show what symptoms were reported and what tests were ordered. They’ll also reveal test results, full diagnosis details, and recommended treatment.
Ask for records from every provider involved in the situation. That may include office notes, lab results, imaging reports, medication lists, and discharge papers. If you had X-rays or scans, ask whether you can get the actual images, not just the written reports.
Keeping everything organized helps your next doctor understand the full story. It also keeps you from solely relying on your memory, which can be difficult with everything else going on.
Consider filing a complaint or asking for a review
Not every misdiagnosis leads to a lawsuit. In some cases, you may want answers or a simple apology.
Hospitals and medical groups often have patient relations departments, patient advocates, or complaint processes. You can ask them to review your concerns and explain what happened. You may also be able to file a complaint with a state medical board if you believe a provider acted improperly.
The line between misdiagnosis and malpractice
A wrong diagnosis does not automatically mean you have a medical malpractice case. Medicine can be complicated, and not every bad outcome is caused by negligence.
For a misdiagnosis to become malpractice, certain legal elements usually have to be present. The exact rules vary by state, but most cases focus on four major questions.
- There must be a doctor-patient relationship. This is the duty element. In simple terms, the provider had to owe you a professional duty of care. If a doctor treated you or gave you medical advice, this element is usually present.
- The provider must have breached the standard of care. This means they failed to act the way a reasonably careful provider would have acted under similar circumstances. A missed diagnosis may qualify if the provider ignored clear symptoms, failed to order appropriate tests, misread results, or didn’t follow up on important information.
- The breach must have caused harm. This is often one of the hardest parts of a medical malpractice case. You usually have to show that the diagnostic mistake made your condition worse, delayed necessary treatment, caused unnecessary treatment, or led to some other injury.
- There must be damages. Damages are the losses caused by the injury. These may include extra medical bills, lost income, pain, disability, or reduced quality of life.
If one of these elements is missing, a malpractice case may be difficult to bring. But if they’re all there, then you have a pretty good case. A medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine which steps to take next.
Putting your health first
A misdiagnosis can be frustrating, but you don’t have to respond all at once. Take the next right step first. Get the right medical answers, document what happened, and then decide whether there’s something more that needs to be done in order to hold someone accountable. Sometimes the answer is yes, while other times you simply need to focus on turning the page and preparing for a better chapter of life to follow.
This content is provided for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional advice. AFP editorial staff were not involved in the creation of this content.
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