Hourigan, Kluger & Quinn Attorneys
May 11, 2026
Learn when misdiagnosis becomes malpractice and what must be proven in Pennsylvania cases.
A misdiagnosis case can involve a failure to diagnose, a delayed diagnosis or an incorrect diagnosis. The key to whether there is valid claim is whether a healthcare provider failed to comply with the standard of care. In a misdiagnosis case, that means that a plaintiff must prove that a healthcare provider failed to make a diagnosis that a reasonable healthcare provider would have made.
Because Pennsylvania has a Certificate of Merit requirement, an expert in the same specialty as the defendant healthcare provider must "sign off" on a misdiagnosis case by providing a written statement that there is a reason to believe that the standard of care was violated and that the violation caused injury to the plaintiff.
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