09/03/2026
Nearly 800,000 Americans die or are permanently disabled every year from diagnostic errors, most often from strokes, infections like sepsis, and cancers, where a missed or delayed diagnosis can be catastrophic. Roughly 1 in 18 ER patients gets the wrong diagnosis. Not every bad outcome is malpractice, but when a provider ignores clear warning signs or delays care in a way that causes serious harm, that's negligence. Pennsylvania law gives patients a path to hold them accountable
Hospitals, surgeons, and doctors have to be held to account when their mistakes cause life-changing harm to patients and