Q: malpractice from the PCP my husband goes to

A: First of all, this sounds like a health care liability / medical malpractice question, and not a legal malpractice question.

Second, just because your husband has received a diagnosis of an incurable terminal disease does not necessarily mean that your husband's primary care physician committed malpractice. You would need to show that your husband's PCP committed some act, or omitted to perform some act that he should have performed, contrary to the standard of care for a doctor in the PCP's school of medicine and area of specialization.

Third, it admittedly sounds bad that the PCP made a diagnosis in 2022 and didn't tell your husband until 2024. This assumes that your husband regularly saw his PCP during the intervening 17 months so that the PCP had opportunities to speak with him concerning the diagnosis. But the failure to tell your husband may not have had any adverse consequences for him. That depends on the form of the disease your husband had at the time of the diagnosis. There are lots of different types. If earlier treatment would not have mattered and your husband did not suffer other legally compensable damages as a result of the delay in being notified of his diagnosis, you may not be able to show that the delay was a cause of any damages--a necessary element of most causes of action.

You should take all of your relevant medical records to a different doctor in the same school and field of medicine for an expert opinion on whether the conduct of your husband's PCP fell below the standard of care.

A: I'm sorry for your family's ordeal. You could reach out to discuss with law firms in further detail, with the benefit of having medical file records. An important issue that will need close examination here is what caused the communication breakdown with the diagnosis between August 2022 and April 2024. Good luck