Washington Diagnosis Error Attorney
Injury Law Group NW represents patients and families across Washington who were harmed when a doctor, hospital, or clinic missed a diagnosis, got it wrong, or got it right far too late. We serve people in Issaquah, Bellevue, Seattle, and throughout King County and the greater Seattle area. A Washington diagnosis error attorney has to do something most injury lawyers never do: reconstruct a medical decision after the fact and show, with qualified experts, that a competent provider would have acted differently.
Diagnostic cases rarely announce themselves. A chest pain sent home as anxiety, a lump labeled benign, a stroke called a migraine, an infection that went untested for hours: the harm usually surfaces only when a second doctor looks at the same records and asks why nobody caught this sooner. By then the patient may be sicker, the treatment options narrower, and the original provider’s chart may already read like a defense.
Why Choose Injury Law Group NW for a Missed or Delayed Diagnosis Claim
Injury Law Group NW is a personal injury firm that serves King County, the Eastside, Seattle, and communities across Washington. Our attorneys spent decades defending insurance companies before representing injured people, and that history matters in a medical negligence case, where the insurer on the other side has usually built its defense long before a lawsuit is filed. We know how those carriers evaluate a diagnostic claim, which records they pull first, and when they are preparing to settle versus preparing to try the case.
Founding partner Troy Hunter spent 16 years in insurance defense litigation, mostly as a partner at Floyd, Pflueger & Ringer, defending insurers and their corporate clients against personal injury and wrongful death claims. Troy also serves as a dispute mediator. Attorney David D. Mordekhov spent two decades at Gardner Trabolsi & Mordekhov trying wrongful death, catastrophic injury, and product liability cases before Washington judges and juries. Troy and David are both rated AV Preeminent by Martindale-Hubbell, David has been selected to the Super Lawyers list, and David teaches trial and deposition skills as faculty at the National Institute for Trial Advocacy. Associate attorneys Warren Barreiro and Hannah Shergold complete the trial team, and dedicated case managers return calls and texts promptly. David is fluent in Russian and Warren speaks Spanish, so families can discuss a frightening medical event in the language they are most comfortable using.
Our attorneys have argued at every level of the Washington court system, from district court to the Washington Supreme Court, and the firm is a member of the Washington State Association for Justice. We prepare every claim as though it will go to trial, because insurers pay more fairly when they believe the lawyer across the table will actually try the case.
Our results include more than $1 million recovered for parents whose newborn died after a hospital failed to adequately test for Group B Strep. That case also led the hospital to change its procedures, which is the kind of outcome that matters beyond a single family. Every case is different, and past results do not guarantee a future outcome. We work on a contingency fee basis, so you pay no attorney fee unless we recover money for you, and the first consultation is free and confidential. If an illness or hospital stay makes travel hard, we will meet you at home or at the hospital.
Types of Diagnostic Failures We Investigate
- Misdiagnosis: A provider names the wrong condition and treats it, while the real illness progresses. Heart attacks labeled as indigestion and strokes treated as vertigo are classic patterns, and the harm often comes from the wrong treatment as well as the lost time.
- Delayed diagnosis: The correct answer eventually arrives, but weeks or months late. Cancers found at a later stage, infections that spread to the bloodstream, and blood clots caught after they travel are the situations where delay changes survival odds and treatment options.
- Failure to order or follow up on tests: A symptom clearly called for imaging, bloodwork, or a specialist referral, and nothing was ordered, or an abnormal result sat in a chart without anyone calling the patient.
- Misread imaging and lab results: Radiologists and pathologists overlook a mass, fracture, bleed, or abnormal cell, or a lab result is misinterpreted. These claims often turn on comparing the original study against what a second specialist sees.
- Emergency room diagnostic errors: Crowded emergency departments, rushed handoffs between shifts, and anchoring on a first impression can send a seriously ill patient home. Hospitals serving Seattle, Bellevue, Issaquah, and the rest of King County see these situations.
- Birth and newborn diagnostic failures: A hospital fails to screen for or act on an infection, fetal distress, or a condition that routine testing would have revealed. Our Group B Strep result came from this kind of failure.
- Brain injury and stroke missed in the emergency setting: Head injuries and strokes can present with subtle symptoms and sometimes look normal on an early scan. Missing them can mean permanent cognitive or physical impairment.
- Diagnostic errors leading to death: When a missed diagnosis ends a life, the claim can become a wrongful death action brought by the personal representative for the benefit of the family members the statute protects.
What an Attorney Actually Does in a Diagnosis Error Case
The first job is to find out what happened, which usually means gathering every record from every provider who touched the patient, not just the facility that made the error. We look at triage notes, nursing entries, orders placed and not placed, imaging reports, lab timestamps, and the electronic record’s audit trail where it matters. The sequence of who knew what and when is often the whole case.
The second job is the expert. Washington medical negligence claims are built on the standard of care, meaning what a reasonably prudent provider with the same training would have done in the same situation. That has to come from qualified medical experts in the same field as the defendant. We retain them early, before filing, so we know whether the case is worth bringing and so the complaint is grounded in something real.
The third job, and the hardest, is causation. Proving a doctor missed something is only half the case. We also have to show that a timely diagnosis would have led to a meaningfully better outcome. A delayed cancer diagnosis, for example, requires evidence about what stage the disease was at when it should have been found, what treatment would have been available, and how survival or function would have differed. Defense experts concentrate their fire here, and our attorneys’ years on the defense side tell us exactly how they will argue it.
Finally, we value the claim as a whole. That includes the cost of additional and future treatment, lost income and earning capacity, and the human losses: pain, disability, shortened life expectancy, and the loss of a family member. Where the patient has died, Washington law lets the personal representative bring the claim for the benefit of the spouse or registered domestic partner and children, or if there are none, the parents or siblings, and the estate can also pursue the decedent’s own losses.
What to Do After a Suspected Diagnostic Error in Washington
Start by getting the right care. If you suspect you were misdiagnosed, see another provider promptly, ideally one with no connection to the first, and tell them the history without editorializing. Your health comes before any claim, and a second opinion often creates the first clear evidence that something was missed.
Next, request your complete records in writing: office notes, hospital charts, imaging studies themselves (not only the reports), lab results, discharge instructions, and patient portal messages. Keep your own notes about symptoms, dates, who said what, and when you called or returned. Save pharmacy receipts, bills, and anything that shows missed work. Do not alter, delete, or add to anything you already have.
Be careful with the provider’s insurer and risk management staff. A call that sounds like an apology or an offer to help can become a recorded statement used to narrow your claim. You are generally not obligated to give one, and you should speak with a lawyer first. Likewise, avoid posting about your condition or the care you received on social media.
Mind the clock. Washington sets the deadline for a medical negligence claim at three years from the negligent act, or one year from when you discovered or reasonably should have discovered the cause of the injury, whichever expires later. The statute also contains an eight-year outer limit, though the Washington Supreme Court has held that provision unconstitutional, and its current effect should be confirmed with counsel rather than assumed. The deadline can be extended where there was fraud, intentional concealment, or a foreign object left in the body with no therapeutic or diagnostic purpose. In a wrongful death case, the general three-year period runs from the date of death. A suit is treated as commenced by filing or by service, so long as the other step is completed within 90 days.
If the provider was a public hospital or other government-run facility, a different procedure applies. A claim must first be presented to the state’s Office of Risk Management or to the local entity’s designated claims agent, and no lawsuit can be filed until 60 calendar days have passed. The limitations period is paused during that window, and filing within five court days after it ends is treated as filed on the first day after the 60 days. Those claim forms are easy to get wrong, which is one more reason to call early.
Diagnostic cases are typically filed in King County Superior Court, a court of general jurisdiction with sessions in Seattle and at the Maleng Regional Justice Center in Kent. Because medical negligence claims for serious harm commonly exceed what district courts can hear, Superior Court is where most are filed. Where you live and where the care occurred influence which courthouse is used, and we handle that for you.
Answers to Common Questions About Diagnosis Error Claims
Is every missed diagnosis medical malpractice?
No. Medicine involves uncertainty, and some conditions are hard to identify even for careful doctors. A claim exists when the provider fell below the accepted standard of care, for example by ignoring clear symptoms, failing to order an indicated test, or misreading a study a competent specialist would have read correctly, and that failure caused harm.
How long do I have to file a claim in Washington?
Generally three years from the negligent act, or one year from when you discovered or should have discovered the injury and its cause, whichever is later. Claims against government-run providers require a prior claim filing and a 60-day waiting period. Because discovery and tolling questions get technical, speak with a lawyer as soon as you suspect an error.
What does it cost to hire Injury Law Group NW?
The consultation is free and confidential. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis, which means we are paid only if we recover compensation for you. If there is no recovery, you owe no attorney fee.
Do I need an expert to bring a diagnosis error case?
In practice, yes. The standard of care and causation are medical questions that a jury cannot answer without testimony from a qualified provider in the relevant specialty. We line up experts before filing so the claim rests on a real medical opinion.
What if I was partly responsible, such as by not following up or waiting to seek care?
Washington follows pure comparative fault, so your recovery is reduced by your share of fault but not eliminated. There is no 50 or 51 percent bar. Defense lawyers do raise delay and noncompliance, so we look closely at what you were actually told and whether you were given a reasonable chance to act on it.
My loved one died after a missed diagnosis. Who can bring a claim?
The personal representative of the estate brings the action. It is for the benefit of the surviving spouse or registered domestic partner and children, including stepchildren, or if there are none, the parents or siblings. The representative can also pursue the decedent’s own economic losses and, where qualifying beneficiaries exist, the pain and suffering the person endured before death.
Can I recover if a radiologist or lab, not my doctor, made the mistake?
Yes. Responsibility can rest with any provider in the chain, including radiologists, pathologists, laboratories, and the hospital itself. We look at every handoff, because a misread scan or a lost result can be the real source of the delay.
Will my health insurance cover treatment while the claim is pending?
Generally you should use your health coverage to get care without waiting on a claim. We help you manage bills and liens as the case moves forward, and your treatment decisions should be driven by your doctors, not by the lawsuit.
How long does a diagnosis error case take?
These cases usually take longer than a typical injury claim because of the record review, expert work, and defense resistance involved. Timing varies with the complexity of the medical issues and whether the insurer is willing to negotiate fairly. We keep you informed at each stage rather than leaving you to wonder where things stand.
The doctor told me about the mistake and apologized. Does that settle anything?
No. An apology or acknowledgment may be helpful information, but it does not resolve your claim or protect your deadlines. Do not sign anything or accept payment from a provider or insurer without having a lawyer review it first.
Is it worth hiring a lawyer if my injuries seem modest?
It depends on the harm caused by the error. Medical negligence cases are expensive to develop, so the claim generally needs to involve significant consequences, such as worsened disease, permanent impairment, or death. A free consultation lets us tell you candidly whether a claim makes sense.
Serving Diagnosis Error Clients Across King County and Washington
We represent patients and families throughout King County, from Issaquah and the Eastside communities of Sammamish, Redmond, Kirkland, and Bellevue to Seattle and the south county cities of Kent and Renton. Our work also reaches clients across the greater Seattle area, the Puget Sound region, and Washington more broadly. If a missed diagnosis happened at a hospital, urgent care, or clinic anywhere in that territory, we can look at the records and tell you what the evidence supports.
We understand that people dealing with a serious illness are not always able to travel. If your condition makes it difficult to come to us, we will meet you at your home or at the hospital at a time that works for you.
Talk With a Washington Diagnosis Error Lawyer Today
If you believe a doctor or hospital missed or delayed a diagnosis that changed your health or took someone you love, a conversation with a Washington diagnosis error lawyer at Injury Law Group NW can tell you where you stand. We will listen to what happened, review the records, and explain whether a claim is viable and what it could involve. There is no fee for the consultation and no attorney fee unless we recover for you. Call or text us to schedule. We give hope. We get results.
