When you or a loved one has become ill, injured, or died due to a lack of treatment, late treatment, or the wrong type of treatment, Regan Zambri Long’s Washington, DC medical misdiagnosis lawyers will hold medical providers accountable when their failures cause life-altering harm. Our award-winning attorneys bring a depth of diagnostic understanding that few firms can match, with eight members of our team currently named among Best Lawyers’ Top 30 Medical Malpractice Attorneys in Washington, DC. One of our partners is also a trained nurse who can work closely with top medical experts to review records, reconstruct decision-making, and identify how earlier intervention could have changed the outcome.
We have achieved over $1 billion in personal injury recoveries, including diagnosis-related outcomes such as a $5.3 million verdict, a $3.65 million settlement, and a $3.65 million verdict. We front all case costs, and our commitment to clients is reflected in over 100 5 star Google reviews.
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According to a study published in BMJ Quality & Safety, diagnostic errors cause serious harm, including permanent disability or death, for an estimated 795,000 patients in the United States each year.
While one of the main consequences of misdiagnosis is delayed treatment of a patient’s actual medical condition, sometimes, this medical malpractice can cause serious harm. A doctor failing to diagnose a medical condition properly could lead to the wrong prescribed medication, an unnecessary medical procedure, or other medical errors. These errors can lead to high medical expenses and further pain and suffering for patients and their families.
Several factors can lead to a misdiagnosis, including but not limited to:
Diagnostic testing is usually the first step, giving the healthcare provider an accurate picture of the patient’s condition. Delayed testing can cause serious harm to patients. It can result from several factors, including the patient’s insurance company not covering the cost or the doctor making assumptions about the root cause.
Sometimes, a physician does not have the proper knowledge or training to recognize the symptoms of certain diseases. Instead of ordering additional testing, a physician may ignore symptoms or disregard their severity. In other cases, the medical provider may have ordered testing but didn’t know how to read the results, leading to a misdiagnosis.
Healthcare providers are in high demand and often see multiple patients during an appointment window, so they don’t spend much one-on-one time with patients. The average length of a visit with a physician is rarely enough time to get a complete medical history, discuss a patient’s symptoms, review test results, and diagnose correctly.
Medical professionals are human and can make diagnostic errors. Not all mistakes are made with negligence or malicious intent. However, a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis claim should be filed when the doctor or healthcare provider acted negligently or had malicious intentions while making a misdiagnosis or a late diagnosis. It causes harm, injury, or death.
Several requirements must be met to prove negligence or fault in a misdiagnosis lawsuit, including:
In most cases, the physician can be sued for misdiagnosis or a delayed diagnosis. A 2023 analysis by the American Medical Association found that nearly one-third of physicians reported facing at least one malpractice lawsuit over the course of their careers. Exposure was highest in certain specialties, including OB/GYNs at 62.4%, general surgeons at 59.3%, other surgical specialists at 55.5%, and orthopedic surgeons at 47.2%.
However, there may be times when other parties may be held liable as well. These include nurses, lab technicians, medical specialists, and the medical facility. Your DC medical malpractice lawyer will ensure that all liable parties are held responsible.
A negligent doctor or another medical professional can misdiagnose any condition. The top 10 most commonly missed or delayed diagnoses, according to a 2022 study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, are:
A 2024 study examining serious harms from diagnostic error found that misdiagnoses involving stroke, sepsis, pneumonia, venous thromboembolism, and lung cancer alone accounted for 38.7% of all serious diagnostic harm. When broader categories such as vascular events, infections, and cancers were considered together, they represented 75% of overall serious misdiagnosis-related harm.
No matter the misdiagnosis or late diagnosis that has dramatically affected you and your loved ones, a medical malpractice lawyer at Regan Zambri Long can help you build the strongest case possible to get the compensation you deserve.
When a doctor or medical professional has caused you or a loved one harm due to incorrect treatment, late treatment, or lack of treatment, you can pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit and claim damages from the malpractice.
Common damages that are recovered in a misdiagnosis or late diagnosis medical malpractice case include, but are not limited to:
Any medical malpractice claim can be overwhelming, and you will need a top DC medical lawyer at Regan Zambri Long to guide you through the process.
You are entitled to compensation when you or a loved one suffers a misdiagnosis. Regan Zambri Long’s DC lawyers know that a lawsuit may feel like an extra burden, but we are ready to shoulder the legal burden for you so that you or your loved one can focus on getting the care you need.
We will meet with you for a free consultation to discuss your case, and from there, you can rest assured that your case is in the best hands possible. Operating on a contingency basis, we only collect fees once we’ve recovered for you. Our network of professionals and experts will work with us to review your medical treatment and records to identify and prove your misdiagnosis so that we can hold the liable parties responsible.
We have almost 30 years of experience in medical malpractice cases, and have achieved several multimillion-dollar settlements and verdicts where patients were harmed due to incorrect or delayed diagnoses, such as:
Our team of expert malpractice attorneys are all named by Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers as being among the top plaintiff medical malpractice lawyers in Washington, DC, with senior partner Patrick Regan recognized by Best Lawyers as their Washington, DC Lawyer of the Year for Medical Malpractice Law in 2014 and again in 2020.
Don’t let your doctor’s misdiagnosis continue to impact your life. Schedule your free case evaluation today and let Regan Zambri Long’s DC misdiagnosis lawyers pursue justice for you.
A misdiagnosis occurs when a medical professional says that the patient has a medical condition they do not have. For example, a doctor diagnoses someone with breast cancer. After extensive and painful treatments, it was revealed that the mass found in the person’s breast was a noncancerous cyst.
A delayed diagnosis, also known as a missed diagnosis, means the medical professional does not diagnose the patient with a condition despite the patient presenting with signs and symptoms. An example of a delayed diagnosis would be a patient showing signs of a stroke but not being treated until it is too late. Stroke diagnosis and treatment delays may worsen neurological damage, increasing the risk of paralysis or permanent disability.
Since a misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis, or lack of diagnosis falls under medical malpractice, the Washington, DC statute of limitations or applicable local statute for the jurisdiction applies. It is essential to consult with a lawyer as soon as possible because the statute begins when the malpractice is discovered. In addition, these factors are very fact-specific. For that reason, you should consult with an attorney as soon as you believe you or a family member may have been a victim of medical malpractice.
Outside these periods, the victim or the victim’s family members will likely be unable to collect compensation.
The answer depends on where you live in the DC Metro area. In Washington, DC, you generally have three years from the date you discovered the misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis to file a claim. In Maryland, the window is longer, allowing up to five years. In Virginia, however, the statute of limitations is just two years, making it especially important to act quickly.
In most cases, the physician can be sued for your misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis. However, there may be times when other parties, such as nurses, lab technicians, medical specialists, and the medical facility, may be held liable as well.
If you’ve suffered harm due to a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, you may be entitled to recover both economic and non-economic damages. These can include reimbursement for past and future medical expenses, lost income and reduced earning capacity, rehabilitation costs, and compensation for pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life. In cases of wrongful death, surviving family members may also pursue damages for loss of companionship, funeral expenses, and other related losses.
Have you or your loved one sustained injuries in Washington DC, Maryland or Virginia? Regan Zambri Long PLLC has the best lawyers in the country to analyze your case and answer the questions you may have.