Misdiagnosis and Delayed Diagnosis Claims in Georgia & South Carolina
Diagnostic errors are the most common type of medical malpractice in the United States. A report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine found that most Americans will experience at least one diagnostic error in their lifetime, and that diagnostic failures contribute to approximately 10% of patient deaths. When a doctor misdiagnoses a serious condition, fails to order appropriate tests, or delays a critical diagnosis, the patient may lose valuable treatment time and suffer preventable harm.
At Roden Law, our misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis lawyers represent patients across Georgia and South Carolina who are harmed by diagnostic failures. Whether your doctor missed cancer, failed to diagnose a heart attack or stroke, or confused your symptoms with a less serious condition, we pursue the full compensation you deserve.
Common Misdiagnosed and Delayed Conditions
Certain medical conditions are misdiagnosed or delayed with alarming frequency:
- Cancer: Failure to order biopsies, misread pathology slides, or follow up on abnormal screening results
- Heart attack and stroke: Symptoms dismissed as anxiety, indigestion, or musculoskeletal pain — particularly in women
- Infections and sepsis: Failure to identify infections before they become life-threatening
- Appendicitis: Misdiagnosed as gastrointestinal issues until the appendix ruptures
- Pulmonary embolism: Blood clots mistaken for pneumonia, anxiety, or muscle strain
- Meningitis: Symptoms attributed to the flu or migraine until the infection progresses
- Ectopic pregnancy: Failure to diagnose before rupture, causing internal bleeding
Many diagnostic failures in emergency rooms occur because of overcrowding, rushed assessments, and failure to order appropriate diagnostic tests. When misdiagnosis results in death, our medical malpractice wrongful death lawyers can help the family pursue justice.
Proving a Misdiagnosis Claim
To succeed in a misdiagnosis case, you must demonstrate three elements: (1) a doctor-patient relationship existed, creating a duty of care; (2) the doctor failed to meet the accepted standard of care in diagnosing your condition — meaning a competent doctor in the same specialty would have made the correct diagnosis under similar circumstances; and (3) the misdiagnosis or delay directly caused you harm that would not have occurred with a timely and accurate diagnosis.
Georgia requires a medical expert affidavit under O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1 to be filed with the complaint, and South Carolina requires a Notice of Intent and expert opinion under S.C. Code § 15-79-125. Our attorneys work with qualified medical experts in the relevant specialty to establish the standard of care and how the defendant failed to meet it.
The “Differential Diagnosis” Standard
Courts evaluate diagnostic accuracy using the “differential diagnosis” method — the systematic process doctors use to identify a disease by ruling out possible conditions based on symptoms, test results, and medical history. If a doctor failed to include the correct diagnosis on their differential list, failed to order tests that would have confirmed or ruled out a condition, or failed to follow up on abnormal results, these failures may constitute negligence.
Damages from Diagnostic Errors
The harm from misdiagnosis depends on the condition involved. Delayed cancer diagnosis may allow the disease to progress to a later stage requiring more aggressive treatment with lower survival rates. Missed heart attacks and strokes cause permanent cardiac and neurological damage that timely treatment could have prevented. Our attorneys pursue compensation for all additional medical treatment necessitated by the delay, lost income, pain and suffering, reduced life expectancy, and diminished quality of life. If a delayed diagnosis resulted in a traumatic brain injury, such as from an undiagnosed stroke, additional specialized damages may apply.
Contact Roden Law for a Misdiagnosis Case
Time is critical in misdiagnosis cases — both for your health and your legal rights. Georgia’s statute of repose (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71) imposes an absolute 5-year deadline from the date of the negligent act, regardless of when you discovered the error. Contact Roden Law for a free consultation.