HomeBoca Raton Medical Malpractice LawyerMisdiagnosis / Delayed Diagnosis

 Boca Raton & Palm Beach County, FL

Boca Raton Misdiagnosis Malpractice Lawyer
Failure to Diagnose. Delayed Diagnosis. Misdiagnosis. We Pursue Accountability.

When a doctor fails to recognize your condition, takes too long to diagnose it, or diagnoses the wrong illness entirely — the consequences can be devastating. Missed cancer diagnoses. Untreated heart attacks. Infections left to become sepsis. If a competent physician would have made the correct diagnosis and your doctor did not, you may have a medical malpractice claim. No fee unless we win.

No Win, No Fee
Free Consultation
Available 24/7
Se Habla Español
40%
Of all malpractice claims involve diagnostic errors
Top Cause
Misdiagnosis is #1 malpractice category in U.S.
No Cap
Non-economic damages since 2017
2 yrs
Florida statute of limitations
Diagnostic Malpractice

Failure to Diagnose, Delayed Diagnosis & Misdiagnosis — Your Legal Rights

Diagnostic errors are the most common form of medical malpractice in the United States, accounting for approximately 40% of all malpractice claims. They fall into three categories: failure to diagnose (a condition is never identified), delayed diagnosis (correctly identified eventually, but too late), and misdiagnosis (incorrectly attributed to the wrong condition).

In each case, the legal standard is the same: would a reasonably competent physician in the same specialty, presented with the same patient presentation, have made the correct diagnosis? If yes — and your physician did not — the failure may constitute malpractice, provided it caused measurable harm.

Cancer misdiagnosis: Breast, colon, lung, cervical, and melanoma cancers are among the most commonly misdiagnosed conditions in Florida. Delayed cancer diagnosis often converts a curable Stage I or II cancer into an advanced, life-threatening Stage III or IV. The difference in prognosis — and in damages — is enormous.

Conditions Frequently Misdiagnosed

Cancer (Breast, Colon, Lung)Most commonly misdiagnosed conditions — delayed diagnosis converts curable to terminal
Heart Attack & StrokeMisattributed to anxiety, heartburn, or dehydration — missed 'code' presentations
Pulmonary EmbolismBlood clot in the lungs frequently dismissed as musculoskeletal chest pain
Appendicitis & MeningitisTime-critical conditions where delay causes rupture, sepsis, or brain damage
SepsisInfection progressing to organ failure due to failure to initiate early treatment protocols
David Shiner — Boca Raton Medical Malpractice Attorney
David Shiner — Founding Attorney
10.0 Superb AVVO · Best Lawyers in America® · Super Lawyers® · AV Preeminent

David Shiner and his team have represented medical malpractice victims throughout Boca Raton and Palm Beach County, recovering compensation for patients harmed by preventable medical errors. Call (561) 777-7700 for a free, confidential consultation.

Were You Harmed by Misdiagnosis / Delayed Diagnosis in Boca Raton?

Florida's statute of limitations gives you two years to file. Evidence can be lost. Call now — available 24/7.

Common Types of Diagnostic Errors

Common Types of Diagnostic Errors — Shiner Law Group Handles Them All

Failure to Order Appropriate Tests

A physician dismisses symptoms without ordering the diagnostic tests — imaging, biopsy, bloodwork, or specialist referral — that would have revealed the condition. Common in cancer cases where patients present with warning signs.

Ignoring Patient Complaints

Dismissing patient-reported symptoms as anxiety, stress, or normal aging when those symptoms were objective indicators of a serious underlying condition. Particularly common with female patients and minority patients reporting cardiac symptoms.

Delayed Cancer Diagnosis

Missing cancer on imaging, failing to follow up abnormal test results, or not biopsying suspicious tissue. The delay from Stage I to Stage IV cancer can be the difference between curative treatment and terminal illness.

Misreading Lab Results or Imaging

Radiology misreads, pathology errors, and laboratory result interpretation failures. A radiologist who misses a shadow on a chest X-ray or a pathologist who misreads a biopsy slide can derail an entire diagnostic course.

Wrong Condition Diagnosed

Attributing symptoms to the wrong illness — diagnosing GERD when a patient is having a heart attack, diagnosing a headache as migraine when it is a subarachnoid hemorrhage, or diagnosing appendicitis symptoms as gastrointestinal inflammation.

Failure to Refer to a Specialist

A general practitioner fails to refer a patient presenting with specialist-level symptoms to the appropriate specialist, causing a delay in diagnosis that allows the condition to progress.

Why Shiner Law Group

Why Boca Raton Patients Choose Shiner Law Group for Misdiagnosis / Delayed Diagnosis Cases

Board-Certified Medical Experts

Every misdiagnosis / delayed diagnosis case requires a qualified expert in the relevant specialty. We maintain a network of board-certified experts who review your records and provide the expert opinion Florida law requires before filing suit.

Immediate Record Preservation

Medical records can be amended — and institutional memory fades. We act immediately to obtain, preserve, and secure all relevant records before key evidence is lost or altered.

No Fee Unless We Win

We advance all expert fees, case costs, and filing expenses — zero upfront cost to you. Our fee comes from the recovery, which means our interest is identical to yours: maximum compensation.

Proven Results

10.0 Superb AVVO · Best Lawyers in America® · Super Lawyers® · AV Preeminent. Millions recovered for Boca Raton malpractice victims through negotiation and trial.

Our Boca Raton Office

Visit Shiner Law Group’s Boca Raton Office

Address7800 Congress Ave #108, Boca Raton, FL 33487
Phone(561) 777-7700 — Available 24/7
HoursOpen 24/7 — including nights & weekends
Se Habla EspañolBilingual staff available
FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

You must show that a reasonably competent physician in the same specialty, presented with the same patient information, would have made the correct diagnosis — and that your physician's failure to do so caused measurable harm. This requires expert medical testimony. Shiner Law Group obtains your complete medical records, has them reviewed by board-certified experts in the relevant specialty, and builds the causation evidence from the ground up.
A delayed diagnosis can still be malpractice if the delay caused measurable harm — a cancer progressed from Stage II to Stage IV, an infection became sepsis, or a treatable aneurysm ruptured. The question is whether the eventual correct diagnosis came too late, and whether a timely diagnosis would have resulted in a materially better outcome. Our experts evaluate the staging, progression timeline, and treatment options at each point.
Yes — delayed cancer diagnosis is one of the most significant categories of malpractice. If your cancer was present and detectable at an earlier stage when your doctor saw you, and a competent physician would have ordered testing that would have revealed it, you may have a strong claim. We pursue delayed diagnosis cases involving breast, colon, lung, cervical, prostate, melanoma, and other cancers.
You may recover: all additional medical expenses caused by the delay (the treatment you would not have needed with timely diagnosis), lost wages, reduced earning capacity, pain and suffering for the additional treatment and disease progression, emotional distress, and in wrongful death cases, full damages for surviving family members. Florida's 2017 Supreme Court ruling removed damage caps.
Two years from when you knew or reasonably should have known that your injury was connected to a diagnostic error. This is often measured from when you received the correct diagnosis or when you learned that an earlier diagnosis should have been made. Contact Shiner Law Group immediately — the four-year absolute repose period can limit late-filed claims.
Nothing upfront. Shiner Law Group handles all diagnostic malpractice cases on a strict No Win, No Fee basis. We advance all expert costs and case expenses. Call (561) 777-7700 for a free, confidential case review.

Free Medical Malpractice Case Review

Confidential · No obligation · Available 24/7 · No fee unless we win