Misdiagnosis, Delayed Diagnosis, and Failure to Diagnose

Misdiagnosis means identifying the wrong condition. Delayed diagnosis means reaching the correct diagnosis later than reasonable care required. Failure to diagnose means a condition was not identified. These events are not automatically malpractice because some illnesses are difficult to detect or present atypically. A claim examines symptoms, test results, differential diagnosis, follow-up, referrals, accepted practice, treatment options, and whether timely diagnosis would probably have changed the outcome.