You sought medical care because something was wrong. Being sent home with the wrong answer may have allowed a treatable condition to become far more serious.
A misdiagnosis attorney can investigate whether a doctor, hospital, radiologist, laboratory, or other provider overlooked the information needed to reach the correct diagnosis. The case may turn on a test that was never ordered, a result that was misread, or symptoms that were dismissed without proper follow-up.
Brown & Barron represents Maryland patients and families in claims for serious misdiagnosis and failure to diagnose.
Call Brown & Barron at (410) 547-0202 for a free, confidential consultation.
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What Is a Medical Misdiagnosis?
A medical misdiagnosis occurs when a provider gives a patient an incorrect diagnosis, reaches the correct diagnosis too late, or fails to identify the condition at all. The error becomes a possible malpractice claim when safer care probably would have prevented additional harm.
The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality defines a diagnostic error as a failure to establish and communicate an accurate and timely explanation of a patient’s health problem.
Wrong Diagnosis
A doctor may misidentify the condition and begin treatment that does not address the underlying illness. The incorrect treatment may also create new risks.
Delayed Diagnosis
The correct condition is eventually found, but only after a preventable delay. By then, the disease may have progressed or the patient may have lost less invasive treatment options.
Failure to Diagnose
A provider may fail to identify the condition entirely. The patient may be reassured, discharged, or treated only for symptoms while the underlying illness continues.
These situations are different, but each requires proof that a reasonably careful provider should have reached the correct diagnosis sooner.
The three diagnosis types are not separate causes of action under Maryland law. They follow the same malpractice procedures, but the evidence, causation analysis, and potential discovery date may differ. These replacements make that distinction clearer and strengthen the HCADRO requirement. Maryland generally requires covered malpractice claims to begin with HCADRO, followed by a qualified-expert certificate and report within 90 days. (Maryland General Assembly)
How Does Maryland Treat Different Types of Diagnostic Errors?
Maryland applies the same general medical malpractice rules to wrong diagnoses, delayed diagnoses, and failures to diagnose. The difference lies in what the patient must prove and how the error caused harm.
Wrong Diagnosis
A wrong diagnosis occurs when a provider identifies the incorrect condition. The legal claim may focus on whether the patient received unnecessary treatment while the actual illness went untreated.
Delayed Diagnosis
A delayed diagnosis occurs when the correct condition is eventually found, but later than reasonably careful medical care required. The patient must show that the delay caused the illness to progress, required more aggressive treatment, or otherwise worsened the outcome.
Failure to Diagnose
A failure to diagnose occurs when the provider does not identify the condition within the relevant course of care. The claim may involve missed testing, ignored results, or a failure to refer the patient to an appropriate specialist.
These are not separate statutory claims. In each case, qualified medical evidence must connect the specific diagnostic failure to additional harm. The type of error may also affect when the patient reasonably discovered the injury under Maryland’s filing deadline.
How Does a Maryland Misdiagnosis Claim Work?
A misdiagnosis case is a medical malpractice claim and must follow Maryland’s required procedures. Medical support is generally needed before the case can proceed in court.
Filing With HCADRO
Most substantial claims against Maryland health care providers must first be filed with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office, commonly called HCADRO. Filing the claim there also counts as filing the action for statute-of-limitations purposes.
Providing a Qualified Expert Certificate
Under Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 3-2A-04, the claimant generally must file a certificate and supporting report from a qualified medical professional within 90 days after filing the claim.
The certificate must state that the provider departed from accepted standards of care and that the departure caused the patient’s injury. Failure to satisfy this requirement can result in dismissal.
Moving the Claim to Court
After completing the required HCADRO process, the parties may waive arbitration and move the case to the appropriate Maryland court.
These requirements make an early review important. The records must be obtained and evaluated before a qualified medical professional can support the claim.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATIONWhen Does a Misdiagnosis Become Medical Malpractice?
Not every incorrect diagnosis is malpractice. Medicine involves judgment, and some conditions are difficult to recognize even when providers act carefully.
The Provider Missed a Reasonable Diagnostic Step
A claim may involve a failure to:
- Take a complete medical history
- Perform an appropriate physical examination
- Consider likely alternative diagnoses
- Order necessary laboratory tests or imaging
- Interpret test results correctly
- Compare new symptoms with earlier findings
- Refer the patient to a specialist
- Schedule proper follow-up care
- Communicate an abnormal result
The Error Caused Additional Harm
A diagnostic error must cause more than frustration or inconvenience. The patient must generally show that the delay or wrong diagnosis made the outcome worse.
That may mean a disease advanced, treatment became more aggressive, permanent damage occurred, or the patient lost a meaningful opportunity for effective care.
A misdiagnosis lawyer examines both parts of the case. A provider’s error matters legally when it can be connected to preventable harm.
What Conditions Are Commonly Misdiagnosed?
Almost any medical condition can be diagnosed incorrectly. The most serious claims often involve illnesses that require fast treatment or become harder to treat as time passes.
Common examples include:
- Cancer
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Sepsis
- Pulmonary embolism
- Meningitis
- Appendicitis
- Internal bleeding
- Brain hemorrhage
- Aortic dissection
- Ectopic pregnancy
- Newborn infections
- Spinal cord compression
A delayed diagnosis of one of these conditions may lead to brain damage, organ failure, paralysis, advanced disease, or death.
The diagnosis alone does not establish negligence. The investigation must determine whether the available symptoms, tests, and medical history should have led a careful provider to act sooner.
How Do Diagnostic Errors Happen?
Diagnostic errors often involve more than one missed decision. They may develop as information moves between physicians, laboratories, radiology departments, nurses, and medical facilities.
| Diagnostic Failure | What May Have Happened | Evidence That May Matter |
|---|---|---|
| Test was not ordered | The provider did not investigate serious symptoms | Examination notes, orders, and clinical guidelines |
| Test result was misread | Imaging, pathology, or laboratory findings were interpreted incorrectly | Original images, slides, reports, and independent review |
| Abnormal result was overlooked | A result entered the chart but no one acted on it | Electronic records, messages, and audit trails |
| Patient was not referred | The condition required specialist evaluation | Referral records and follow-up instructions |
| Symptoms were dismissed | The provider relied on an early assumption despite new warning signs | Visit notes and changes in the patient’s condition |
| Follow-up failed | No one confirmed whether testing or additional care occurred | Scheduling records, portal messages, and office procedures |
A medical misdiagnosis attorney in Maryland may need to examine the entire diagnostic process rather than focus on one appointment.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATIONWhat Are Examples of Misdiagnosis Malpractice?
Misdiagnosis malpractice can occur in an emergency department, physician’s office, hospital, urgent care center, or specialty practice. The setting may change, but the central question remains whether the provider responded reasonably to the available information.
Cancer Misdiagnosis
A cancer diagnosis may be delayed when a provider fails to investigate a lump, abnormal scan, changing laboratory result, or persistent symptom.
Errors may also involve misread pathology or a failure to refer the patient for a biopsy.
Stroke or Brain Hemorrhage Misdiagnosis
Stroke symptoms may be mistaken for a migraine, intoxication, anxiety, or an inner-ear problem. A brain hemorrhage may be missed when imaging is not ordered, is misread, or is not repeated after the patient declines.
Treatment options can disappear quickly when a neurological emergency is not recognized.
Heart Attack Misdiagnosis
Heart attack symptoms do not always appear as dramatic chest pain. Some patients experience fatigue, nausea, back pain, shortness of breath, or pressure.
A claim may involve poor cardiac testing, failure to consider risk factors, or discharge despite continuing symptoms.
Infection and Sepsis Misdiagnosis
A serious infection may become sepsis when providers fail to recognize fever, abnormal laboratory findings, low blood pressure, confusion, or organ problems.
The investigation may focus on whether antibiotics, fluids, testing, or hospital admission should have occurred sooner.
These examples show why the correct diagnosis matters. A delay may change both the treatment available and the patient’s chance of recovery.
Who May Be Responsible for a Diagnostic Error?
More than one provider or institution may contribute to a misdiagnosis. A careful investigation identifies everyone who received important information and failed to act on it.
Potentially responsible parties may include:
- Primary care physicians
- Emergency department doctors
- Radiologists
- Pathologists
- Oncologists
- Surgeons
- Nurses
- Physician assistants
- Nurse practitioners
- Laboratories
- Hospitals
- Urgent care centers
- Medical practices
A hospital or medical practice may also be responsible for poor communication systems, inadequate staffing, unsafe test-result procedures, or a failure to track referrals.
Identifying the full chain of responsibility helps explain why the correct diagnosis never reached the patient in time.
How Long Do You Have to File a Misdiagnosis Lawsuit?
Maryland generally requires a medical malpractice claim to be filed by the earlier of two deadlines. The discovery date can be especially important when the correct diagnosis comes months or years after the original error.
Under Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings Section 5-109, the general filing periods are:
- Five years after the injury was committed
- Three years after the injury was discovered
The earlier deadline usually controls. Different rules may affect claims involving children, mental incapacity, or concealed wrongdoing.
A hospital investigation, medical board complaint, or promise that someone will review the case does not automatically stop the filing clock.
A prompt review helps identify when you first had enough information to suspect that the diagnostic error caused harm.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATIONWhat Compensation May Be Available?
A successful claim may address the additional harm caused by the wrong or delayed diagnosis. The damages must be separated from the effects the underlying illness would have caused even with proper care.
Medical and Financial Losses
Compensation may include:
- Additional hospital care
- More invasive treatment
- Corrective procedures
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Medication
- Lost income
- Reduced earning ability
- In-home assistance
Future Care Needs
A patient with permanent brain damage, organ injury, paralysis, or advanced disease may require lifelong treatment, medical equipment, accessible housing, or personal care.
Personal Harm
A claim may also address pain, disability, emotional distress, disfigurement, and lost independence. Maryland limits noneconomic damages in malpractice cases.
The goal is to document what the diagnostic error changed, including the treatment, recovery, finances, and future the patient now faces.
Why Choose Brown & Barron as Your Misdiagnosis Attorney?
A diagnostic error case requires more than proof that the first doctor was wrong. You need a firm able to examine complex records, work with the right medical professionals, and challenge the institution defending the care.
Medical Malpractice Is a Core Practice
Brown & Barron focuses on medical malpractice, birth injuries, nursing home abuse and neglect, catastrophic injuries, and wrongful death.
The firm is not a volume-based operation handling every type of injury claim.
Medical Knowledge Supports the Investigation
Brown & Barron works with an in-house nurse paralegal and qualified outside medical professionals. This support helps the attorneys understand testing, treatment decisions, and the medical effect of the delay.
Results Back the Firm’s Approach
Brown & Barron has recovered more than $169 million for clients since 2017 and has received more than 235 five-star reviews.
For you, those figures mean the firm has the resources to investigate a difficult medical case while remaining responsive to the person whose life was changed.
You receive the strength needed to challenge a hospital or health system without losing the personal care of a focused Maryland firm.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATIONMaryland Misdiagnosis Questions
A diagnostic error can leave you unsure whether the provider made an unavoidable judgment call or missed something that should have been found. These answers address several questions that often arise during an initial review.
Is Every Wrong Diagnosis Malpractice?
No. A provider may reach an incorrect diagnosis despite taking reasonable steps and responding appropriately to the available information.
A claim is more likely when the provider ignored warning signs, failed to order basic testing, misread results, or failed to reconsider the diagnosis as the patient worsened.
Can I File a Claim If the Correct Diagnosis Came Later?
Yes, depending on the facts and the filing deadline.
The later diagnosis may help show what the earlier provider missed. The case must still establish that the delay caused additional harm.
What If the Test Result Was Correct, but No One Called Me?
A failure to communicate and act on an abnormal result may support a claim when the delay causes harm.
The investigation may examine office procedures, portal records, telephone logs, and which provider was responsible for follow-up.
Can a Radiologist Be Responsible?
Yes. A radiologist may be responsible when imaging contains findings that a reasonably careful specialist should have identified.
The hospital or practice may also share responsibility for communication or follow-up failures.
What If a Misdiagnosis Caused a Death?
The family and the patient’s estate may have wrongful death and survival claims. These claims address different losses and should be evaluated separately.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire Brown & Barron?
The initial consultation is free and confidential. Brown & Barron handles medical malpractice cases on a contingency fee basis, so attorney fees are paid only if the firm obtains a recovery.
A record review can help determine whether the error was preventable and whether it caused legally compensable harm.
Speak With a Maryland Misdiagnosis Lawyer
You should not have to accept an incomplete explanation when the correct diagnosis came too late. Brown & Barron can review the medical record and determine whether the delay resulted from negligent care.
The firm can help by:
- Obtaining records from every involved provider
- Preserving imaging, pathology, and laboratory evidence
- Building a complete diagnostic timeline
- Consulting qualified medical professionals
- Identifying individual and institutional failures
- Calculating current and future losses
- Completing Maryland’s filing requirements
- Preparing the claim for settlement or trial
If a doctor missed cancer, stroke, sepsis, a heart attack, or another serious condition, Brown & Barron can explain what the evidence shows.
Call Brown & Barron at (410) 547-0202 for a free, confidential consultation.
SCHEDULE A CONSULTATIONRestoring Lives. Restoring Justice.
Brown & Barron, LLC · 7 St. Paul Street, Suite 800, Baltimore, MD 21202 · (410) 547-0202
This page provides general information and is not medical or legal advice. Every diagnostic-error case is different. Speak with a licensed Maryland attorney about your circumstances.