Failure to Diagnose Cancer
Cancer is a serious illness that often requires a person to receive prompt treatment. Any delay in diagnosis can have deadly consequences. Unfortunately, the failure to diagnose cancer is also one of the most common forms of medical malpractice.
If you or a family member has suffered because of a doctor’s failure to diagnose cancer, you may be entitled to money for your damages. The experienced medical malpractice attorneys of Schwartzapfel Truhowsky Marcus P.C. are ready to provide you with a free case evaluation when you contact us at 1.800.966.4999 or via our online contact form. We will protect you!
Some Doctors Ignore or Misdiagnose the Symptoms
Common symptoms of cancer may mirror symptoms of other medical conditions. Patients may have unusual bleeding, digestion problems, a cough or pain in a certain area of the body. If a patient presents to a doctor with any of these symptoms or other symptoms that would lead a doctor to reasonably suspect cancer, the doctor should conduct diagnostic tests that could confirm or rule out the presence of cancer. When tests are not ordered, or results are misread, cancer can go undetected until the disease's progress is irreversible.
Other Doctors Fail to Conduct Routine Screening Tests
It is a routinely accepted practice among the American medical community to conduct regular screening tests for some forms of cancer. The schedule for the screenings depends on a person’s age and risk factors and may include tests such as pap smears for cervical cancer, mammograms for breast cancer and colonoscopies for colon and rectal cancers. Doctors who do not advise patients to have the recommended screening tests may be liable of medical malpractice.
The Consequences of a Doctor’s Failure to Diagnose Cancer
Unlike the common cold virus, which simply runs its course, cancer requires medical intervention to cure a patient. Without medical interventions such as chemotherapy, radiation, surgery, transplants and other therapies, a patient's chances of survival rapidly decline. The failure to diagnose, or even a delay in diagnosing cancer, can potentially lead to:
- A greater risk that the cancer will spread throughout the body, (also known as metastasis);
- A greater risk that the patient will have to endure longer and more painful cancer treatments that have more significant side effects;
- A greater risk of financial suffering due to time away from work, lost income and medical bills;
- A greater risk of death.
If you or a loved one has been a victim of a doctor’s failure to diagnose cancer, you have likely suffered many of these consequences. As much as you’d like to go back and receive the correct diagnosis so that you can get the best possible care, you know that is not possible. Yet, that does not mean that you are helpless or powerless in moving forward.
Victims of a doctor’s failure to properly diagnose cancer can hold the doctor accountable for failing to make the correct diagnosis. A legal case can help you recover for the damages that you incur, including medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering, because of the mistake by your health care provider.
In order to recover the damages to which you are entitled, it is important to work with skilled attorneys during this challenging time. As you fight for your health, we will fight to help you recover the money you need for your medical care.
Our experienced attorneys can help if you or a loved one was hurt by a doctor’s failure to diagnose cancer. We will not collect a fee unless you are successful in your case. Please contact us at 1.800.966.4999 or fill out our online contact form for a free case evaluation. Let us concentrate on your legal case while you concentrate on your health.
