Posted on 16 Jun 2025

Can You Sue A Doctor For Misdiagnosis in Australia?

What are some examples of medical misdiagnosis claims?

Delayed diagnosis: your condition isn’t identified early enough, causing it to worsen e.g. cancer that spreads because treatment was delayed.
Missed diagnosis: the illness is completely overlooked, such as failing to diagnose bipolar disorder, leaving someone without the right mental health support.
Incorrect diagnosis: you're diagnosed with the wrong condition, such as being told you have irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) when it’s actually Crohn’s disease.
Failure to refer: a GP doesn’t refer you to a specialist or for scans when symptoms clearly need further investigation, such as persistent chest pain not being referred for cardiac testing.
Failure to follow up: test results aren’t reviewed or shared with you.
Testing errors: important tests aren’t done or results are misinterpreted. For example, a tumour being missed on an X-ray due to poor imaging or misreading by a radiologist.

If you think a doctor’s mistake caused your condition to worsen, our medical misdiagnosis solicitors can help you understand your rights and whether you’re entitled to compensation. Get in touch for free advice today.

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How to sue a doctor for misdiagnosis

To successfully sue a doctor for misdiagnosis, you’ll need to prove three main things:

Every doctor in Australia has a legal responsibility to provide safe, appropriate care — this is known as their ‘duty of care’. If your doctor missed your illness or gave the wrong diagnosis when they reasonably should have identified your condition, they may have breached that duty.

To prove this, you need to show that another competent doctor, in the same situation, wouldn’t have made the same mistake.

To claim compensation for a misdiagnosis, you need to prove two key things:

Causation: that your condition got worse because of the delay or mistake.
Foreseeability: that any doctor could have predicted this outcome would have resulted from their actions (or failure to act).

You’ll also need to show that the misdiagnosis caused you ‘loss’. This might include medical bills, lost income, or the physical and emotional toll the misdiagnosis has had on your life.

Esther secures $1.5mil after hospital fails to find cancer

When Esther went to a public hospital with ongoing groin pain, she had ultrasounds and x-rays, but the hospital missed a suspicious mass. This delay meant her rare, aggressive cancer wasn’t diagnosed early, leading to intensive treatment and lasting health issues.

Our team collected evidence showing that other hospitals would have acted sooner based on her symptoms. Working with medical experts, we proved the delayed diagnosis worsened her condition and suffering. Because of this careful work, Esther received a $1.5 million settlement to cover her medical expenses, lost wages, and future care needs.

Read Esther's full story

How much compensation can I get?

In Australia, compensation for medical misdiagnosis cases varies greatly depending on how serious the consequences are.

In less severe cases where the delay didn’t significantly impact your health, payouts often fall between $100,000 and $200,000. But for serious errors with life-changing outcomes, compensation can exceed $10 million.

For example, compensation for a cancer misdiagnosis is usually higher than for a misdiagnosed sprain or mild infection, because the long-term impact tends to be more serious.

Depending on your case, you may be able to claim for:

Lost wages and future earning capacity.
Medical bills and treatment costs.
Rehabilitation and therapy.
Care provided by professionals or loved ones.

Modifications to your home or vehicle.
Pain and suffering.
Punitive damages (in rare cases where the negligence was extreme).

How to find a medical misdiagnosis lawyer near you

With 29 offices across Australia, it’s easy to get expert advice on your misdiagnosis claim — wherever you are.

You’ll find us in every major city, including Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Darwin and Hobart, plus regional locations like Newcastle, Coffs Harbour, the Gold Coast, Ballarat, Hawthorn and Preston.

Prefer not to travel? We also offer phone and video consults, or we can come to you if needed.

To find your nearest Monaco office, head to our offices page.

Starting your medical misdiagnosis claim

Before suing for medical misdiagnosis, the most important step is to get proper medical care and treatment. Since misdiagnosis often causes delays in treatment, it’s crucial to start as soon as possible.

Once you’ve seen another doctor and begun treatment, we recommend contacting a specialist medical misdiagnosis law firm like Monaco. During a free consultation, we’ll listen to your story and explain your rights in clear terms.

If you decide to proceed, we’ll immediately start building your case. This includes a thorough investigation into what went wrong and how the misdiagnosis occurred. We’ll also gather expert medical evidence linking your doctor’s negligence to your condition.

After preparing a strong claim, we file the necessary court documents and begin legal proceedings by exchanging evidence with the other side. Then we enter mediation, where your lawyer negotiates directly with the doctor’s legal team to get you the highest possible compensation.

From beginning to end, your lawyer takes care of all the legal details and negotiations, so you can avoid the stress of dealing with the opposite side.

Frequently asked questions

We’ve spent over 25 years helping Australians sue their negligent doctors. Here are some of the most common conditions doctors misdiagnose or miss entirely:

Stroke: often mistaken for dizziness, vomiting, or confusion.
Heart attack: sometimes confused with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) or other illnesses.
Fractures and X-rays: broken bones missed or misread, causing long-term pain and complications.
Melanoma: this skin cancer can be misdiagnosed as eczema or another form of dermatitis.
Lung cancer: can be mistaken for asthma, COPD, or acid reflux.
Leukemia: this blood cancer is sometimes confused with other diseases, such as infections.
Pancreatitis: often misdiagnosed as gallstones, ulcers, or bowel issues.
Diabetes: early symptoms are often missed, causing preventable complications.
Bipolar disorder: misdiagnosed as depression or anxiety.
Appendicitis: can be confused with other abdominal issues, risking rupture or infection.

This is by no means a complete list, just some of the most common conditions misdiagnosed. If your doctor failed to diagnose your condition in time (or at all), get in touch today. We’ll listen to your story and provide free advice on your rights.

Time limits apply to all medical negligence claims, including misdiagnosis — but the exact deadline depends on the state you live in.

In some states, you have three years from the date of misdiagnosis. But in others, it’s three years from when you realised your condition got worse due to a doctor’s negligence.

These time limits are enforced strictly, but exceptions do exist. If you think you might be out of time, don’t assume you’ve missed your chance — contact our medical misdiagnosis lawyers today. We’ve helped many clients make successful claims outside the time limit, and we’re ready to help you too.

The time it takes to resolve your claim varies based on your case’s complexity and how much your doctor’s insurers challenge it. Most misdiagnosis claims usually take around 12 to 18 months.

After reviewing your situation, we’ll be able to provide a clearer estimate of your claim timeline.

Absolutely. Every medical misdiagnosis claim with us comes with a genuine No Win No Fee guarantee. That means we cover all upfront costs, and you pay nothing unless we win your case. If your claim isn’t successful, you won’t owe us a cent.

What makes us different? Our guarantee covers everything — not just legal fees but also admin costs, expert reports, and court fees (if needed). In contrast, most other firms only cover their legal fees, leaving you responsible for other expenses if you lose.

If your claim wins, our fees are capped at 30% of your compensation — much lower than the typical 50%. As an added bonus, we usually recover these fees from the other side, so you keep more (if not all) of your settlement.

Want to know how much your claim might cost? Contact our medical misdiagnosis lawyers for a free consultation. We’re here to clearly explain your rights and secure the maximum compensation you deserve.

If another lawyer said you don’t have a claim, don’t give up — a second opinion can change everything. Our specialist medical misdiagnosis lawyers have won many cases that other law firms have rejected.

We’ll carefully review your situation and explore every option to help you get the compensation you deserve. Our second opinions are free, with no obligation to continue.