Delayed or Wrong Diagnosis: What Makes a Case Meritorious?

November 12, 2025

A staggering number of medical malpractice lawsuits stem from either a delayed diagnosis or an incorrect diagnosis of a medical condition. A diagnostic error is one of the most egregious mistakes a doctor can make. National research shows that roughly one in every 20 patients (about 12 million a year) treated in outpatient settings is misdiagnosed, and about half of those mistakes have the potential to cause serious injuries.

When a physician misdiagnoses their patient, it can result in that patient receiving no treatment, delayed care, or improper treatment, all while allowing their condition to worsen. In some cases, by the time the correct diagnosis is made, it is already too late to save the patient’s life.

At Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp, our experienced Virginia Beach medical malpractice attorneys have been helping injured clients see successful outcomes to a variety of medical malpractice lawsuits since 1985. If you think you have a valid medical malpractice case based on an incorrect or missed diagnosis, contact our personal injury law firm today to schedule your free case review.

When is a Delay or Medical Misdiagnosis Grounds for a Lawsuit?

Not every instance of a delayed or incorrect diagnosis is grounds for legal action. The mere fact that a doctor made the wrong diagnosis or took entirely too long to make it does not mean that they were negligent. If the error did not result in harm to the patient, there will be no grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit. Medical professionals can and do make diagnostic mistakes even when exercising due care. In these cases, a Virginia Beach medical malpractice attorney will have to determine whether or not the surgeon or doctor acted competently.

The main issue is whether, in the circumstances, the surgeon or doctor violated the relevant medical standard of care. In these instances, the question you should be asking is if a doctor with similar training and background would have made the same diagnosis.

Delayed and missed diagnosis cases are often challenging because the aggrieved patient has to show that the delay or misdiagnosis caused the injury or illness to worsen, a situation that would not have occurred had a correct diagnosis been made in the first place.

What Medical Conditions Are Commonly Misdiagnosed?

The most commonly missed diagnoses that lead to Virginia Beach medical malpractice lawsuits include:

Heart Attack: Often mistaken for indigestion, muscle pain, or even a panic attack.
Stroke: Commonly misdiagnosed as migraines, vertigo, or alcohol intoxication, especially in younger patients.
Cancer: A delayed or incorrect diagnosis can be fatal, while a false cancer diagnosis can lead
to unnecessary, harsh, and invasive treatments.
Fractures: Often fobbed off as a simple sprain, leading to improper healing and long-term health complications.
Asthma: Sometimes confused with recurring bronchitis, a mistake that can have life-threatening repercussions.
Celiac Disease: Frequently misdiagnosed, leaving patients to endure relentless, ongoing symptoms and untold damage to their intestines.
Lymph Node Inflammation: Often mistaken for the flu, delaying proper care and supervision, especially among the elderly.

Who is Liable for a Delayed or Missed Diagnosis?

In the majority of medical delayed and missed diagnosis cases, the doctor who made or missed the diagnosis is the person liable for your damages.

Patients may bring a lawsuit against the hospital or other medical facility where they were treated, but typically only if the doctor was an employee of that facility. It is worth mentioning that not every doctor is an employee of a hospital; many are independent contractors. As such, any lawsuit would be brought against the physician and the group with which they were employed.

In some instances, other healthcare professionals may be sued. However, specialists, lab technicians, consultants, and nurses can be sued only if they had a hand in the negligent diagnosis.

How Do I Know if I Have a Valid Case?

Although you are almost certainly furious about your delayed or missed diagnosis, if you did not sustain any damages, you do not have grounds for a viable lawsuit. When determining the validity of your case, ask yourself:

If your doctor had diagnosed your medical condition earlier, would your prognosis have been better?
Are the injuries caused by the delayed or missed diagnosis going to affect your chances of a complete recovery?
Is the delayed or missed diagnosis going to shorten your lifespan? The classic examples are where the doctor failed to diagnose cancer, and it was at an easier-to-treat stage, but then it progressed to a higher stage because of the missed diagnosis.
Did you miss out on an opportunity to fix your condition earlier?

What Are the Risks of a Delayed or Missed Diagnosis in a Virginia Beach Hospital?

If a doctor delays or gives you an incorrect diagnosis, the consequences to your life can be serious. It’s always upsetting when a Virginia Beach medical malpractice attorney is contacted by the surviving family member of a cancer patient who lost their chance to fight their illness due to an incorrect or delayed diagnosis.

A doctor’s failure to make a proper diagnosis is unacceptable when it endangers a patient’s health or life. Mistakes like this can result in serious, sometimes irreversible consequences, such as:

Invasive or unnecessary treatment (such as the need for chemotherapy or radiation because a cancer has progressed).
Increased medical expenses
Severe pain and suffering
Emotional and mental distress
Wrongful death

All We Do Is Injury Law

The first and most important step in pursuing a delayed or missed diagnosis claim is to seek skilled legal guidance as early as possible in the process because Virginia follows a two-year statute of limitations from the date of the injury in most cases.

Fortunately, in a delayed diagnosis case Virginia has some exceptions and allows one year from date of the correct diagnosis in cases of most types of cancer, but if your case does not involve a cancer, you should speak with one of our attorneys as soon as possible because one of the exceptions to the statute of limitations of two years may or may not apply, depending upon the specific facts of the case. An experienced Virginia Beach medical malpractice attorney from Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp can help you gather the evidence needed to prove your case, handle communications with insurance companies, and fight for your rights in court.

Because medical malpractice cases are complex and are often accompanied by life-changing consequences, you need to partner with a law firm that has a proven track record. For example, our team secured a jury verdict of $2.23 million for the family of a woman who lost her life due to a delayed diagnosis of hospital-acquired sepsis.

If you were harmed by a delayed or missed medical diagnosis, call us at (833) 997-1774 or reach out via our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We proudly serve clients from our offices in Virginia Beach, Portsmouth, Norfolk, and Hampton.