You trusted your doctor with your health and maybe even your life. You described your symptoms honestly, answered every question, and followed their advice. Then everything went terribly wrong. Maybe you were told your chest pain was anxiety when it was actually a heart condition. Maybe a radiologist missed the cancer on your scan. Maybe test results showing a serious problem sat in a file, unreported, while your condition worsened.
Medical misdiagnosis in Philadelphia isn’t just a mistake, it’s a betrayal of trust. When that failure causes real harm, Pennsylvania law gives you the right to hold negligent providers accountable. But medical malpractice cases are among the most complex in personal injury law, with strict procedural requirements and aggressive defense tactics.
At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, our medical malpractice attorneys have spent over 25 years fighting for patients harmed by medical negligence. We understand the medicine, we know Pennsylvania’s malpractice laws inside and out, and we have the resources to take on hospitals and their defense teams. If medical misdiagnosis has devastated your life or your family, we’re here to fight for justice.
Common Types of Misdiagnosis Due to Malpractice
Medical misdiagnosis takes many forms, each with potentially devastating consequences. The most common, and often most harmful, cases we see include:
Cancer Misdiagnosis
When radiologists fail to identify tumors on imaging or doctors dismiss symptoms as benign, patients lose the window for curative treatment. By the time cancer is correctly diagnosed, it may have metastasized beyond treatment.
Heart Attack and Stroke
When providers dismiss chest pain as anxiety or severe headaches as migraines, patients suffer permanent heart damage, brain damage, disability, or death. Every minute of delay in diagnosing heart attacks or stroke potentially causes irreversible harm.
Infection Misdiagnosis
Sepsis and meningitis can kill within hours if untreated. When doctors misdiagnose these as the flu or minor illness, patients deteriorate rapidly into organ failure or death.
Unnecessary Procedures
Misdiagnosis can also mean diagnosing conditions that don’t exist, leading to unnecessary surgeries and treatments that cause their own harm.
Pediatric and Obstetric Errors
Misdiagnosed childhood cancers, meningitis, pregnancy complications like preeclampsia, and fetal distress can result in permanent disability or death for children and mothers.
Not Every Misdiagnosis Leads to a Malpractice Suit
Medicine is not an exact science, and not every diagnostic error constitutes malpractice. Pennsylvania law requires proving that:
- The provider violated the standard of care: Doctors must provide care that meets accepted professional standards. If a reasonably competent doctor would have made the same error given the same circumstances, it’s not malpractice.
- The violation caused harm: You must prove the error directly caused injury that wouldn’t have occurred with proper diagnosis. If the outcome would have been the same regardless, there’s no basis for legal action.
- The harm resulted in significant damages: Medical malpractice litigation is expensive and complex. Minor, temporary harm may not justify the costs of pursuing a case.
- When misdiagnosis becomes malpractice: Providers who fail to order appropriate tests despite clear symptoms, misread or ignore test results, dismiss patient complaints without examination, fail to refer to specialists, don’t follow up on abnormal results, or ignore obvious differential diagnoses have likely committed malpractice.
Immediate Steps After You Suspect a Misdiagnosis
Get the Right Medical Care Now
Your health is the priority. Seek a second opinion from a different provider who can confirm the correct diagnosis and begin appropriate treatment immediately. Don’t let loyalty or fear delay getting help.
Contact a Medical Malpractice Attorney Immediately
Time is critical. Evidence can disappear, memories fade, and legal deadlines approach faster than you realize. At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, we offer free consultations to review your situation, and we have a track record of success handling complicated medical injury cases.
Preserve Critical Documentation
Request complete medical records from every provider:
- Office visit notes and exam findings
- All test orders and results (labs, imaging, biopsies)
- Actual imaging films, not just written reports
- Patient portal messages and communications
- Discharge summaries and follow-up instructions
Create a detailed timeline documenting when symptoms appeared, every medical visit and what you were told, all tests ordered, when you learned of the correct diagnosis, and how your condition worsened.
Save all related documentation, including prescription records, medical bills, appointment reminders, and any written communications with providers. Further, document the impact of your misdiagnosis, such as work missed, income lost, activities you can no longer perform, pain levels, and emotional distress.
Proving Liability in a Philadelphia Misdiagnosis Malpractice Suit
Medical malpractice cases involving missed or delayed diagnosis require proving four essential elements:
Duty of Care
A doctor-patient relationship existed, creating a legal duty to meet professional standards. This is often the most straightforward element to prove.
Breach of the Standard of Care
The provider’s conduct fell below accepted standards. In misdiagnosis cases, breaches include failing to take adequate patient history, not ordering indicated tests, misinterpreting clear results, ignoring red flag symptoms, failing to consider common diagnoses, not following up on abnormal results, or dismissing patient concerns.
Causation
The breach directly caused harm, and that proper diagnosis and treatment would have resulted in a better outcome. For example, if cancer was missed at Stage 1 but diagnosed at Stage 4, you must show that earlier treatment would have significantly improved survival or quality of life.
Damages
You suffered actual harm including medical expenses, lost wages, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. Our medical malpractice lawyers know how to identify all the losses you incurred.
Identifying All Responsible Parties
Cases often involve multiple defendants: primary care physicians who dismissed symptoms, emergency doctors who sent patients home without proper workup, radiologists who misread scans, pathologists who misinterpreted specimens, specialists who failed to recognize conditions, hospitals responsible for policies and oversight, and laboratories that reported incorrect results.
Evidence That Is Critical to a Misdiagnosis Claim
Some of the key evidence our medical malpractice attorneys might use to build strong claims for a misdiagnosis include:
- Complete medical records from all providers showing what information they had, what they did or failed to do, and what they told you. Include actual imaging films which independent radiologists can review, laboratory and pathology reports, and prescription records.
- Expert medical testimony from qualified professionals who explain the standard of care, demonstrate how the defendant fell below that standard, prove causation, and describe the full extent of harm. We work with nationally recognized experts whose credentials provide the credibility your case needs.
- Economic documentation, including all medical bills, estimates of future costs, employment records showing wages lost, and expert economic testimony calculating lifetime financial impact.
- Life impact evidence, such as your daily activity journal, testimony from family members, photos and videos showing your condition, mental health records, and vocational expert opinions if you can’t return to your career.
Pennsylvania Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Rules and Deadlines
Two-Year Statute of Limitations
Most medical malpractice claims in Pennsylvania must be filed within two years from when the injury occurred or should have been discovered. For delayed diagnosis cases, the timeline may not start until the correct diagnosis is made. Missing this deadline means losing your right to compensation forever.
Certificate of Merit Requirement
Within 60 days of filing a malpractice suit, your attorney must file a Certificate of Merit stating that an appropriate licensed professional reviewed the facts and concluded in written opinion that care fell below accepted standards and caused the harm alleged. This requires extensive pre-litigation investigation with qualified medical experts.
Philadelphia Venue Considerations
Philadelphia’s Court of Common Pleas has mandatory arbitration for smaller cases, structured scheduling orders with specific deadlines, and judges experienced in medical litigation. Success requires attorneys who understand local courts and what Philadelphia juries expect.
How Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers Will Help You
Healthcare providers and their insurers have unlimited resources and experienced defense teams. You need advocates who can match their resources and exceed their determination.
- We conduct thorough investigations, obtaining and reviewing every page of medical records, consulting with leading medical experts, researching providers to uncover prior complaints, and building complete timelines showing exactly when and how misdiagnosis occurred.
- We assemble top medical experts who can explain complex medical issues to juries in clear, compelling terms and help us expose weaknesses in defense testimony.
- We calculate your complete damages working with economic experts, life care planners, and vocational specialists to document all past and future medical expenses, lost income, diminished earning capacity, and pain and suffering.
- We fight for maximum compensation. Over 25 years, we’ve recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for our clients. We don’t back down from powerful hospitals or aggressive defense teams.
Contact Us Today If You’ve Suffered From Medical Misdiagnosis in Philadelphia
Every day that passes is another day that critical evidence could disappear. Medical records get lost or destroyed. Memories fade. Witnesses become unavailable. And legal deadlines keep approaching whether you’re ready or not.
If you believe that medical misdiagnosis in Philadelphia caused you or a loved one serious harm, you need to act now. At Ostroff Godshall Injury and Accident Lawyers, we offer a free, confidential case evaluation. We’ll review your situation, consult with medical experts if needed, and give you an honest assessment of whether you have a viable case. There’s no obligation and no cost unless we recover compensation for you.
Medical providers and their insurers are already protecting themselves. It’s time someone fought for you. Call us today at 484-351-0350 or contact us online to schedule your free consultation. Let us help you hold negligent providers accountable and recover the compensation you deserve.
