Failure to Diagnose Lawyers
Failure to diagnose errors occur when a doctor fails to recognize the symptoms or signs of a medical condition. This is often medical malpractice that may entitle a patient to significant compensation. If you were harmed by a doctor’s failure to diagnose, the experienced California failure to diagnose attorneys at Cutter Law P.C. are here to help.
Medical professionals are supposed to diagnose the medical conditions you face. You go to them for help with your medical problems and expect to get competent treatment. Advanced medical technology and a doctor’s training mean they should detect issues such as heart problems, cancer, and much more.
The negligence of a medical provider who fails to diagnose a medical condition can cause major harm to a patient’s health and, in some cases, death.
If your doctor or another health care provider negligently failed to diagnose your condition, you can file a medical malpractice claim. With the help of a knowledgeable medical malpractice attorney in California, you can seek compensation for the injuries you have suffered. You may be owed substantial compensation for your losses.
Our Legal Team Has The Experience to Get You The Compensation You Deserve
When you need a California failure-to-diagnose attorney, Cutter Law has experienced lawyers to help. From Sacramento to Oakland, our team has the knowledge and experience to fight for your rights. We understand how to prove your case and fight against powerful hospitals and insurance companies to win you the compensation you are owed.
We have recovered over $100 million in damages for our clients. We know how to investigate and prove a failure-to-diagnose claim and want to put that knowledge to work for you. We can provide a free consultation to determine whether you have a case for potential compensation.
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Featured Medical Malpractice Attorney John Roussas
John Roussas has been recognized by Northern California Super Lawyers as a Rising Star in 2009–2010 and as a Super Lawyer from 2019 to 2025. He specializes in medical malpractice cases.
[John] saved me a lot of stress in the way that he handled my case. I really can’t thank him enough.
What Constitutes Failure to Diagnose?
A failure to diagnose a medical condition occurs when a doctor cannot identify the cause of your symptoms. The doctor does not know what condition you face or misdiagnoses your condition as something else.
Not every case of failure to diagnose is considered negligence, however. Some instances occur when a doctor works their hardest to discover the condition affecting their patient. Some diseases are very difficult to diagnose, even when the doctor does everything right.
In too many cases, the failure to diagnose is because of negligence. A doctor commits medical negligence when their actions fail to conform to the medical standard of care, leading to a missed diagnosis.
The medical standard of care can differ based on the physician’s credentials, experience, and specialization. If a reasonable doctor should have discovered the condition and diagnosed it but failed to do so, their actions may be negligent. This is considered medical malpractice and may entitle an injured patient to financial compensation.
Proving medical malpractice is something that requires other medical practitioners to look at the circumstances and give their opinion. It’s not enough for an attorney. It’s not enough for just any person off the street to believe that they are the victim of medical negligence. You need to have the right practitioners look at the situation and determine what happened
John Roussas,
Partner at Cutter Law
Delayed Diagnosis
A similar issue occurs when a doctor’s negligence causes a delayed diagnosis. Though the doctor figured out your condition eventually, it was well after they would have if they had provided a proper standard of care. Significant health implications can occur because a doctor fails to diagnose a medical condition in a timely fashion.
Any injuries attributed to this delay may be considered medical malpractice and make the doctor liable for your injuries. A skilled delayed diagnosis lawyer can analyze your case and make a determination about whether negligence occurred in your situation.
Commonly Misdiagnosed & Undiagnosed Conditions
There are many medical conditions or issues that are missed by negligent doctors. Failure to diagnose may occur with conditions such as, but not limited to:
- Cancer and tumors
- Depression and anxiety
- Diabetes or issues with insulin
- Drug allergies or problematic interactions
- Genetic diseases
- Heart disease or circulatory issues
- Infections
- Kidney disease
- Mental conditions
A competent physician should have the training to diagnose these conditions and more. Their failure to do so may be considered medical malpractice and entitle you to compensation for your injuries.
How to Prove Negligence for Failure to Diagnose
To win compensation in your case, you need to prove the doctor was negligent in failing to diagnose your medical condition. You and your attorney will compile evidence to prove that the doctor committed medical malpractice in failing to diagnose your ailment. To prove negligence, your failure-to-diagnose lawyer can:
- Review your medical history for signs the doctor missed
- Consider your symptoms and injuries
- Investigate the doctor’s credentials and skills
- Present evidence of how the doctor failed to diagnose your condition
- Work with experts to prove the doctor’s negligence
- Prove what harm was caused by the missed diagnosis
- Present evidence in court or settlement negotiations to prove negligence
Proving negligence is a crucial part of any successful medical malpractice claim. Our dedicated team of California medical malpractice attorneys know how to investigate and build the evidence to show that you suffered harm due to the actions or inaction of your medical provider.
Wrongful Death Caused by Failure to Diagnose
According to a Johns Hopkins research team, “Diagnostic errors leading to death or serious, permanent disability were associated with misdiagnosed cancers (37.8 percent), vascular events (22.8 percent) and infections (13.5 percent) — categories that the team calls the ‘big three.’”
A wrongful death claim may be appropriate following a doctor’s failure to diagnose. If the failure to diagnose was negligent, and that failure caused your loved one’s untimely death, you may be entitled to compensation for that negligence.
You must be able to show that:
- Your loved one died.
- The failure to diagnose was negligent.
- The failure to diagnose was responsible for the loved one’s death, or they died earlier than if properly diagnosed.
- The surviving family members suffered financial hardship.
If your loved one was one of the estimated 100,000 Americans who died in the past year due to missed or delayed diagnosis, contact our wrongful death attorneys for your free consultation to learn more about your legal options.
Statute of Limitations for California Failure to Diagnose Cases
In most cases, the California Code of Civil Procedure section 340.5 provides a period of one year in which to file a medical malpractice claim. This includes claims for failure to diagnose a medical condition. While some cases may be extended up to three years based on other extenuating circumstances, most claims must be filed within this one-year period of the date of the failure to diagnose.
If you fail to file a lawsuit within the statute of limitations period, your case will likely be dismissed. This is true even if the case would have been successful if filed on time.
The best way to avoid this potential problem is to speak with an attorney immediately. Delay could mean you are unable to obtain the compensation you are otherwise entitled to.
Compensation in Failure to Diagnose Lawsuits
You may be owed monetary compensation as a result of a doctor’s negligent failure to diagnose. With the help of your medical malpractice lawyer, a properly proven case may result in compensation such as the following:
- Past and future medical costs
- Loss of income or lost earning capacity
- Cost of modifications due to disability
- Pain and suffering
- Disfigurement or impairment
- Loss of consortium
- Wrongful death damages
Non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering, are limited under California law. These damage caps may limit what you can recover for non-economic harm. The caps do not apply to your economic damages, such as medical costs or loss of income. Your failure-to-diagnose lawyer in California can fully explain how these caps may affect your case.
A failure to diagnose can leave you financially, physically, and emotionally damaged. This compensation may help you recover from the damage the doctor’s negligence has caused.
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Contact Cutter Law Today For Help with Your Case
A doctor’s failure to diagnose can leave you injured, financially struggling, or even grieving the death of a loved one. Our skilled medical malpractice attorneys know what you are going through and how to investigate what has happened. We are ready to assist you and seek the compensation you deserve.
Contact us online for your free case review. Our skilled legal team will work on your behalf to build a strong claim for compensation.
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Start with a free consultation. We listen to what happened, how it’s affected your life, and what you need to move forward.
You’ll have a direct line to our attorneys. We keep communication open and ensure you always know what’s happening with your case.
From day one, we go all in—gathering evidence, negotiating with insurers, and preparing for trial if needed. You pay nothing unless we win compensation for you.
Depending on the year when your case goes to trial, the medical malpractice damages cap could be anywhere from half a million to a million dollars, roughly.
In general, the California statute of limitations for medical malpractice is one (1) from when you knew or should have known about the malpractice.
To succeed in a wrongful death lawsuit, you must prove four elements: duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages.
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