[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/blog\/could-a-flu-misdiagnosis-be-medical-malpractice\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/blog\/could-a-flu-misdiagnosis-be-medical-malpractice\/","headline":"Could a Flu Misdiagnosis be Medical Malpractice?","name":"Could a Flu Misdiagnosis be Medical Malpractice?","description":"For many, the flu is an annoying, but otherwise simple inconvenience. While some forms of the flu are indeed mild, influenza can be a serious, and potentially deadly, diagnosis. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributes 35.6 million illnesses, 16.6 million medically attended visits, 710,000 hospitalizations and 56,000 deaths each year to the […]","datePublished":"2023-05-15","dateModified":"2026-03-11","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/blog\/author\/damico\/#Person","name":"D Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC","url":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/blog\/author\/damico\/","identifier":11,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5c310c9f3211b0da1ea34789a06a7cc25b8bbeed0ab4f1ca7b77036b32d8bb35?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/5c310c9f3211b0da1ea34789a06a7cc25b8bbeed0ab4f1ca7b77036b32d8bb35?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"D\u2019Amico & Pettinicchi, LLC","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/logo-header.svg","url":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/logo-header.svg","width":0,"height":0}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/medical_malpractice-e1684521364180.jpg","url":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/medical_malpractice-e1684521364180.jpg","height":869,"width":1806},"url":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/blog\/could-a-flu-misdiagnosis-be-medical-malpractice\/","about":["Medical Malpractice"],"wordCount":720,"articleBody":"For many, the flu is an annoying, but otherwise simple inconvenience. While some forms of the flu are indeed mild, influenza can be a serious, and potentially deadly, diagnosis.The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention attributes 35.6 million illnesses, 16.6 million medically attended visits, 710,000 hospitalizations and 56,000 deaths each year to the flu. Given the potential severity of the flu, accurate diagnosis is essential. Yet, every year thousands of people are misdiagnosed with \u201cflu-like symptoms\u201d leading to potentially severe consequences.If you believe your medical condition was incorrectly diagnosed and you suffered severe harm as a result, contact the medical malpractice attorneys of D\u2019Amico Pettinicchi Injury Lawyers for a free consultation to learn more.Why the Flu is MisdiagnosedThe cause of most flu misdiagnoses in America is human error, which also happens to be the cause of most medical mistakes nationwide.Doctors must use the information they have available to them to properly diagnose medical conditions. However, because influenza has many similar symptoms to the cold and pneumonia, doctors often misdiagnose the three. If a doctor fails to run the proper tests or take note of the severity of a patient\u2019s symptoms, it could lead to misdiagnosis.Sometimes errors stem from using improper testing procedures or failing to follow through on preliminary results. For example, doctors sometimes use a \u201crapid test\u201d to check for influenza, but these tests are not always correct. If your doctor assumes rapid test results are conclusive without additional examination, you could be misdiagnosed as a result of the doctor\u2019s lack of due diligence.A Doctor\u2019s Duty to Diagnose Your Health ProblemsA doctor has a duty to diagnose an injury or illness with reasonable care. This standard means that just because a doctor incorrectly diagnoses you, he or she is not automatically liable if the diagnosis ends up being incorrect or inaccurate.Even the best doctors in the world are occasionally wrong, often for entirely legitimate reasons. The question is whether or not the doctor\u2019s actions were reasonable for a medical professional under the circumstances, not whether the diagnosis is actually correct.The question of whether the misdiagnosis rises to the level of malpractice is not always about whether the final answer is correct as it is whether or not the methodology to arrive at the answer was proper.Holding Doctors Liable for MisdiagnosisThere are four components vital to determining\u00a0if misdiagnosis is medical malpractice:The existence of a doctor-patient relationship. If the victim is not a patient of the doctor, then it is impossible to commit malpractice.The doctor must be negligent when making the diagnosis. The standard for negligence as briefly mentioned above is whether the doctor\u2019s conduct would be considered reasonable to a similarly trained doctor under similar circumstances.The patient must show that the diagnosis was harmful. If a doctor misdiagnosed you, but you suffered no ill effects as a result, then the conduct likely will not rise to support a claim of malpractice.The patient must be able to show specific damages. These damages can include economic damages, such as medical costs, non-economic damages including pain and suffering, which are legitimate but do not have a specific cost associated with them, and punitive damages, which are awarded to punish a physician for reckless behavior. Punitive damages are not common as they require a high level of reckless disregard for the patient\u2019s health and welfare.Find Out if You Have a Misdiagnosis CaseMisdiagnosis cases are complicated. The skilled injury attorneys of D\u2019Amico Pettinicchi Injury Lawyers have years of experience pursuing negligent medical professionals and holding them accountable for the harm they have caused due to misdiagnosing serious medical conditions like influenza.We will help you discover if your misdiagnosis was preventable and determine if you have a case. If you do, we will work to recover maximum compensation for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering. We will take care of the legal battle, so your focus can be where it needs to be \u2013 on getting well.Schedule a free, no obligation consultation with our legal team today and learn what options are available for pursuing compensation in your case. There are no upfront fees, and the only way we get paid is if we recover compensation for you."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Could a Flu Misdiagnosis be Medical Malpractice?","item":"https:\/\/damicopettinicchi.com\/blog\/could-a-flu-misdiagnosis-be-medical-malpractice\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]