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Medical Malpractice

Diagnostic Errors in Oklahoma

When doctors miss obvious symptoms, ignore test results, or fail to follow up—patients suffer preventable harm. We hold negligent physicians accountable.

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Key Takeaways

  • 12 million Americans are affected by diagnostic errors annually
  • Cancer, heart attacks, stroke: Most commonly missed serious conditions
  • Differential diagnosis failure: Doctor didn't consider obvious possibilities
  • 2-year deadline: File within 2 years of discovering the error

On This Page

What Is a Diagnostic Error?

Diagnosis is the foundation of medical care. When doctors get it wrong, everything that follows—treatment, prognosis, outcomes—is affected. A diagnostic error isn't just a mistake in naming a condition; it's a failure in the diagnostic process that leads to patient harm.

Missed Diagnosis

Condition never identified. Patient suffers without knowing why.

Misdiagnosis

Wrong condition identified. Wrong treatment given.

Delayed Diagnosis

Eventually correct, but too late. Disease has progressed.

How Diagnostic Failures Happen

Diagnostic errors typically result from failures in the diagnostic process—not just "difficult cases":

Inadequate History

Failure to ask the right questions, listen to patient concerns, or review prior records.

Insufficient Testing

Not ordering obvious tests (imaging, labs, biopsies) that would have revealed the condition.

Misread Results

Radiologist missing tumor on scan, lab tech reporting wrong values, pathologist misreading biopsy.

Failure to Follow Up

Abnormal results that fall through the cracks—no one calls the patient or orders the next test.

Anchoring Bias

Doctor latches onto initial diagnosis and ignores evidence that it's wrong.

System Failures

Poor handoffs between providers, lost records, communication breakdowns between specialists.

Commonly Misdiagnosed Conditions

Certain conditions are missed or delayed more frequently than others:

ConditionOften Misdiagnosed AsConsequences of Delay
CancerBenign conditions, "wait and see"Stage progression, reduced survival
Heart AttackGERD, anxiety, muscle strainCardiac damage, death
StrokeMigraine, intoxication, vertigoBrain damage, missed tPA window
SepsisFlu, UTI, "just a fever"Organ failure, death
Pulmonary EmbolismAnxiety, asthma, pneumoniaRespiratory failure, death
AppendicitisStomach flu, constipationRupture, peritonitis

Proving Diagnostic Malpractice

To win a diagnostic error case, you must prove:

1. Deviation from Standard of Care

The doctor failed to do what a reasonably competent physician in the same specialty would do—failed to order tests, ignored symptoms, misread results, or didn't follow up.

2. The Error Caused Harm

The delay or misdiagnosis caused injury—disease progression, unnecessary treatment, lost treatment opportunity—that proper diagnosis would have prevented.

3. Quantifiable Damages

You suffered measurable harm: additional medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, reduced prognosis, or wrongful death.

Damages in Diagnostic Error Cases

Economic Damages

  • Additional treatment costs
  • More aggressive treatment required
  • Lost wages during extended illness
  • Lost earning capacity
  • Future medical costs

Non-Economic Damages

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of chance of survival
  • Reduced quality of life
  • Loss of consortium

Frequently Asked Questions

A diagnostic error occurs when a doctor fails to identify a condition (missed diagnosis), identifies the wrong condition (misdiagnosis), or identifies the correct condition too late (delayed diagnosis). All three can cause preventable harm when proper treatment is delayed or the wrong treatment is given.
According to the National Academy of Medicine, diagnostic errors affect approximately 12 million Americans annually—one in twenty adult patients. About half of these errors have the potential to cause harm. Cancer, heart attacks, and infections are among the most commonly missed or delayed diagnoses.
No. Medicine is not an exact science, and some conditions are genuinely difficult to diagnose. Malpractice occurs when the doctor failed to do what a reasonably competent physician would do: take an adequate history, order appropriate tests, properly interpret results, or follow up on concerning findings. If the doctor met the standard of care, a wrong diagnosis isn't malpractice.
A differential diagnosis is the systematic process doctors use to identify conditions. They list possible diagnoses based on symptoms, then rule them out through tests and examination. Malpractice often occurs when doctors fail to include obvious possibilities on their differential, fail to order appropriate tests, or prematurely anchor on a wrong diagnosis.
You need expert testimony from a physician in the same specialty showing: (1) the defendant failed to meet the standard of care in the diagnostic process, (2) a competent doctor would have correctly diagnosed the condition earlier, and (3) the delay caused harm that proper diagnosis would have prevented.
Delayed cancer diagnosis cases focus on 'loss of chance'—whether earlier diagnosis would have improved your prognosis. We work with oncologists to analyze staging at delayed diagnosis versus probable staging at the point the cancer should have been caught. The difference in survival rates and treatment options determines damages.
Yes. Heart attacks are commonly missed, especially in women and younger patients who present with atypical symptoms. If an ER sent you home with 'indigestion' and you later suffered cardiac damage, we investigate whether appropriate tests (EKG, troponin levels) were performed and properly interpreted.
Failure to diagnose means the doctor never identified the condition at all—as opposed to misdiagnosis (wrong condition) or delayed diagnosis (eventually correct, but too late). Failed diagnosis cases often involve patients who saw multiple doctors before someone finally identified what was wrong.
Oklahoma has a 2-year statute of limitations from when you discovered (or should have discovered) the error. There's also a 3-year statute of repose from the date of the negligent act. If you recently learned your condition was misdiagnosed, consult an attorney immediately.
You can recover: additional medical expenses caused by the delay, lost wages, pain and suffering, disability and disfigurement that proper treatment would have prevented, and (if applicable) wrongful death damages. Oklahoma caps non-economic damages at $350,000 in most cases.
Yes. Emergency room and urgent care physicians owe the same standard of care as other doctors. While courts may consider the time pressure of emergency settings, this doesn't excuse failing to order obvious tests or ignoring classic symptoms of serious conditions.
Yes. Oklahoma requires an affidavit of merit from a qualified physician certifying that the defendant breached the standard of care. Your expert must practice in the same or similar specialty and be prepared to testify at trial about what the defendant should have done differently.

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Diagnostic errors cause preventable suffering. We work with medical experts to prove what your doctor should have caught—and didn't.

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