Radiology errors have a unique feature among malpractice claims: the evidence is frozen in time. The image that was misread still exists exactly as it appeared, and independent radiologists can review precisely what the original reader saw. Missed fractures, missed tumors, missed bleeds — and the equally deadly failure to communicate abnormal findings to anyone who acts on them — are provable cases.

Diagnostic Error Claims: Key Facts

  • Misreads: Fractures called normal, nodules unmentioned, strokes and bleeds missed on CT – measured against what a competent radiologist should flag prospectively.
  • Communication failures: A correct report that never reaches the ordering physician, or an abnormal lab no one follows up, injures patients just as surely as a misread.
  • Comparison studies: Prior imaging showing growth over time is often the most damning exhibit – the change was visible and uncharted.
  • Delaware rules: Affidavit of merit from a qualified expert (18 Del. C. § 6853); deadlines under 18 Del. C. § 6856, including the discovery extension for injuries that could not reasonably have been found within 2 years.

How We Build These Cases

We obtain the actual DICOM images – not just the written reports – and have them independently read. We reconstruct the communication chain: who generated the finding, who was told, who should have been told, and where it died. Teleradiology and after-hours reads add defendants; follow-up system failures add the practice or hospital.

Related: Medical Malpractice, Failure to Diagnose Cancer, Misdiagnosis.

Radiology Error FAQs

The report mentioned the finding but my doctor never told me. Who is liable?

Potentially the ordering physician and the practice whose follow-up systems failed – and sometimes the radiologist if the finding required direct communication. Result-tracking duties are real.

How do you prove the radiologist should have seen it?

Independent expert review of the original images, blinded where possible, against professional standards for that study type. Hindsight bias is the defense; methodology answers it.

My injury shows on imaging from two years ago. Am I too late?

Maybe not – 18 Del. C. § 6856 extends the deadline to 3 years for injuries that could not reasonably have been discovered within 2. Call before assuming.

A missed finding changed your treatment? Call (302) 297-7775 – we will have the films reviewed. Free consultation.