Delayed Diagnosis: Legal & Medical Consequences You Should Know
When a patient walks into a doctor’s office or hospital with early symptoms of a serious illness, it’s the healthcare provider’s duty to recognize those signs and act quickly. When diagnosis is delayed, the patient’s condition can get much worse, leaving them with fewer treatment options. It can also lead to irreversible harm.
In Massachusetts, delayed diagnosis is may be grounds for a medical malpractice claim. If you believe that a doctor’s or a hospital’s failure to recognize your illness in time caused you harm, it’s important to understand the legal options available to you or your family.
Al Goodman is a delayed diagnosis medical malpractice attorney in Greater Springfield. In this guide, our legal team at Better Call Al explains the consequences of delayed diagnosis and your options for seeking compensation.
What Is a Delayed Diagnosis?
A delayed diagnosis occurs when a medical provider fails to identify a patient’s illness or condition within a reasonable timeframe, despite having the necessary information to do so. The condition may eventually be diagnosed correctly, but not before the patient’s health deteriorates or complications arise.
This is different from a misdiagnosis, where the condition is incorrectly identified as something else. But both types of errors can lead to serious medical consequences, and both are actionable under Massachusetts medical malpractice law.
Medical Consequences of Delayed Diagnosis
The consequences of a delayed diagnosis can be devastating. Conditions like cancer, infections, stroke, or heart disease become more dangerous the longer they go untreated. The more time that passes, the more the disease can spread or cause irreparable damage.
Consequences may include:
- More invasive treatment: A disease that could have been treated with medication may require surgery, chemotherapy, or intensive care.
- Reduced survival rates: In the case of cancer, late diagnosis can significantly lower the chances of survival.
- Permanent injury: Delay in identifying conditions like stroke or sepsis can result in brain damage, paralysis, or loss of bodily function.
- Increased medical expenses: More advanced treatments, hospitalization, and long-term care can result in financial burdens for families.
- Emotional trauma: Patients often experience anxiety, depression, and a loss of trust in the healthcare system.
Legal Standards for Delayed Diagnosis in Massachusetts
In Hampden County and across the state, a delayed diagnosis may rise to the level of medical malpractice if the doctor failed to meet the appropriate standard of care. In these cases, a patient can bring a misdiagnosis lawsuit in Massachusetts to seek justice and financial compensation.
To succeed in this kind of claim, your medical negligence attorney will need to prove three key elements:
- A provider-patient relationship existed
- The provider failed to act in accordance with the standard of care
- That failure caused harm that would not have occurred otherwise
It’s not enough to show that a diagnosis was delayed. Your attorney must also demonstrate that the delay directly led to a worse outcome than you would have experienced with a timely diagnosis.
What Is a 60L Letter?
A 60L letter is a written notice that must be sent at least 182 days (about 6 months) before filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. Failure to send a 60L letter before filing a medical malpractice suit can result in the case being dismissed for procedural noncompliance.
The letter is sent to the healthcare provider(s) that a plaintiff intends to sue, and it must contain:
- A factual basis for the claim.
- The standard of care believed to have been breached.
- The manner in which the breach caused the alleged injury.
- The type of damages sought.
The Purpose of the 60L Letter
The purpose of this requirement is to:
- Encourage settlement discussions before a lawsuit is filed.
- Give healthcare providers a chance to investigate and respond.
- Potentially avoid litigation if a resolution can be reached.
Anyone seeking to bring a medical malpractice claim in Massachusetts, whether against a doctor, nurse, hospital, or other provider, must comply with this statute, unless certain exceptions apply, such as imminent expiration of the statute of limitations.
What Happens After the Letter Is Sent?
After receiving the 60L letter:
- The provider has 150 days to respond.
- During this time, both parties can exchange relevant information (informal discovery).
- After this period, if no resolution is reached, the claimant may proceed with filing the lawsuit.
Tribunal Requirement in Massachusetts
Before a malpractice case can proceed to trial in Massachusetts, it must pass through a Medical Malpractice Tribunal. This panel includes a judge, an attorney, and a licensed medical professional. The tribunal reviews evidence to determine whether the case has sufficient merit to move forward.
If the tribunal rules against the plaintiff, you may still proceed with your legal action, but you’ll be required to post a $6,000 bond. This is why it’s so important to find a medical malpractice attorney like Al Goodman who is completely familiar with the tribunal process.
Massachusetts Statute of Limitations for Malpractice Cases
Massachusetts generally allows three years from the date of the alleged malpractice to file a lawsuit. However, in cases involving delayed diagnosis, the timeline may start from the point when the patient discovered (or should have discovered) that a delay occurred and caused harm. This is known as the discovery rule.
Even so, there is a hard deadline: no lawsuit can be filed more than seven years after the act of malpractice occurred, regardless of when the harm was discovered, except in cases involving foreign objects left in the body.
Delays in filing can cost you the opportunity to seek justice. If you suspect you were harmed by a late or missed diagnosis, speak with an attorney immediately to protect your rights.
Proving Harm Caused by Delayed Diagnosis
At Better Call Al, we know that medical malpractice isn’t just about what went wrong; it’s about how that wrong caused real harm to someone’s life. That’s why we take the necessary steps to build strong a solid medical malpractice claim.
Obtaining and Reviewing Medical Records
We analyze test results, doctor’s notes, lab reports, and timelines to identify where things went wrong.
Working With Medical Experts
We consult with experienced physicians who can explain how a competent doctor would have diagnosed the condition earlier and what that earlier diagnosis would have changed. The expert opinion has to state, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, that earlier diagnosis and treatment would probably have made a difference in the outcome.
Calculating the True Cost of Harm
This includes not only medical bills, but also loss of income, pain and suffering, long-term care needs, and emotional distress.
Building a Narrative for the Tribunal and Jury
We prepare every case for trial, even if a settlement is likely. That means building a compelling, evidence-backed story of how the delayed diagnosis changed your life, and why the responsible parties should be held accountable.
Examples of Delayed Diagnosis
While we respect our clients’ privacy, delayed diagnosis claims often arise from:
- Undiagnosed breast or lung cancer, where earlier imaging could have saved a life
- Appendicitis or infections, where ER staff dismissed symptoms as minor
- Stroke misdiagnosis, where symptoms were mistaken for intoxication, vertigo, or migraines
- Autoimmune disorders, where doctors failed to connect recurring symptoms
Each of these situations has one thing in common: a patient who trusted the healthcare system, only to be failed by it.
Seeking Damages for Injured Patients
If you’ve experienced serious health consequences from a delayed diagnosis, you may be entitled to compensation. When Better Call Al files a Massachusetts medical malpractice claim or lawsuit, we seek the following types of damages:
- Past and future medical costs
- Lost wages and loss of earning potential
- Pain, suffering, and emotional distress
- Long-term care or rehabilitation expenses
Speak With a Delayed Diagnosis Attorney in Greater Springfield, MA
At Better Call Al, we stand up to hospitals, clinics, and medical providers who fail to meet their professional obligations. We don’t take every case, but when we do, we commit fully. We work with medical experts, prepare every detail, and give your story the attention it deserves.
Let’s talk about what happened. We offer a free consultation, and there’s no obligation.
Call (413) 736-1616 to learn more from a Springfield, MA medical malpractice lawyer today.
You pay nothing unless we win.
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