Serious
Injuries.
Experience.
Results.
A pulmonary embolism (PE) is a blood clot that travels to the lungs, blocking blood flow and placing immense strain on the heart. It is one of the most serious medical emergencies because it can cause sudden death within hours if untreated. Yet despite its severity, pulmonary embolism is often misdiagnosed or overlooked.
Failure to diagnose a pulmonary embolism is a catastrophic medical error. Unlike some conditions that may progress slowly, PEs demand immediate recognition and intervention. Anticoagulant medications, clot-busting drugs, or surgical procedures can save lives—but only if doctors act quickly. When providers fail to diagnose this condition, patients lose critical chances for survival. Families are left to grapple with preventable losses that never should have happened.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that pulmonary embolisms affect between 60,000 and 100,000 Americans every year, and approximately one-third of untreated cases are fatal. Even more concerning, the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) identifies pulmonary embolism as one of the most frequently missed deadly diagnoses in U.S. emergency rooms.
Research published in Chest (2019) found that PE is misdiagnosed in up to 33% of patients who initially seek care. This means thousands of people walk into hospitals or urgent care centers with symptoms of pulmonary embolism but are sent home with incorrect diagnoses—often told they have pneumonia, asthma, anxiety, or musculoskeletal pain.
Use this form to get the fastest review by an attorney and the fastest response from our office.
Failure to diagnose PE often begins with missed warning signs. Patients commonly present with chest pain, shortness of breath, rapid heartbeat, coughing (sometimes with blood), or dizziness. While these are hallmark signs, they can also mimic other conditions. When doctors anchor on less serious diagnoses, they fail to consider or rule out pulmonary embolism.
Testing errors are another factor. The gold standard for diagnosis is a CT pulmonary angiogram, but providers must first suspect PE to order it. D-dimer blood tests can also point toward clotting disorders, but they may not be ordered if the provider dismisses the possibility of PE. In many cases, chest X-rays are performed, but these do not reliably detect blood clots in the lungs, leading to false reassurance.
Time pressure in emergency rooms further compounds the problem. Doctors may discharge patients quickly without performing the full battery of tests, especially younger or otherwise healthy patients who are wrongly assumed to be at low risk.
Patterns frequently emerge in PE misdiagnosis lawsuits. One common scenario involves patients who recently had surgery, are pregnant, or have been immobilized for long periods (such as after long flights). These patients have clear risk factors for blood clots, yet doctors fail to connect their symptoms to PE.
Another scenario involves young patients—particularly women—who present with chest pain or shortness of breath but are told their symptoms are due to anxiety or panic attacks. Women on birth control pills or hormone therapy are especially at risk for clotting disorders, yet their concerns are often dismissed.
Patients with underlying health conditions such as cancer, obesity, or deep vein thrombosis (DVT) are also at high risk. When providers fail to recognize these red flags, the results can be deadly.
The causes of PE misdiagnosis are often rooted in negligence and systemic failures:
Each of these failures represents a missed opportunity to prevent harm.
The accepted medical standard of care requires providers to recognize symptoms consistent with PE, evaluate risk factors, and order appropriate tests to confirm or rule out the diagnosis. When PE is suspected, physicians must treat it as a medical emergency, starting anticoagulation therapy while confirmatory tests are pending.
Failure to meet these standards—by ignoring symptoms, misreading results, or discharging patients prematurely—can constitute malpractice.
The consequences of failing to diagnose pulmonary embolism are often catastrophic. Patients who could have survived with prompt treatment instead face sudden death, often within hours of leaving the hospital. Survivors of undiagnosed or untreated PEs may suffer permanent lung damage, chronic shortness of breath, or pulmonary hypertension, drastically reducing quality of life.
Families are left devastated by the sudden and preventable loss of loved ones. Many malpractice cases involve young or middle-aged patients who should have had decades of life ahead of them. The emotional toll is compounded by the knowledge that timely recognition could have saved them.
To establish malpractice, it must be shown that a provider deviated from the standard of care and that this deviation directly caused harm. Attorneys often rely on medical records, ER notes, lab results, and expert testimony from pulmonologists and emergency medicine specialists.
For example, if a patient had risk factors such as recent surgery and presented with shortness of breath and chest pain, yet the physician failed to order diagnostic tests, this may constitute malpractice. Similarly, if test results were abnormal but ignored, liability may be clear.
At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., we know how devastating pulmonary embolism malpractice cases are. These tragedies often involve patients who sought medical help in time but were denied the care they needed because providers failed to recognize the signs.
Our attorneys work with leading pulmonologists, radiologists, and cardiologists to uncover negligence and build strong cases for our clients. We fight to secure compensation that provides financial stability for families while holding negligent doctors and hospitals accountable. Just as importantly, we pursue these cases to push for systemic improvements in how PE is diagnosed and treated, ensuring future patients are protected.
Liability in PE misdiagnosis cases can extend to multiple parties. Emergency room physicians are often first in line, as they may fail to order appropriate tests. Radiologists may be liable for misreading imaging scans. Nurses and urgent care providers may face liability for failing to escalate concerns. Hospitals and urgent care centers may also be accountable for inadequate training, poor communication, or systemic staffing issues that contribute to misdiagnosis.
Victims of pulmonary embolism misdiagnosis may be entitled to significant damages, including:
The financial recovery is about more than compensation—it provides stability for families who must rebuild their lives after preventable tragedy.
Pulmonary embolism is one of the deadliest yet most treatable medical emergencies. When providers fail to diagnose it, patients lose their chance at survival, and families are left devastated by preventable losses. These failures are not simply errors—they are breaches of trust and violations of the duty to protect patient safety.
At Snyder & Wenner, P.C., we fight for justice on behalf of victims of pulmonary embolism misdiagnosis. By holding negligent providers and hospitals accountable, we not only secure compensation for families but also push the healthcare system toward greater accountability and stronger patient protections. Every life lost to a missed pulmonary embolism is a tragedy that should never happen—and we are here to make sure families have a voice in seeking justice.
