Failure to Diagnose Cancer
Because early detection is vital in successful cancer treatment, a failure to diagnose cancer at the outset may have dire consequences. Further radiation treatment, chemotherapy, and invasive surgery may be required than would be necessary with an early diagnosis. When left undiagnosed, cancer may spread throughout the entire body, greatly lessening the patient’s chance for survival. In the worst cases, failure to diagnose cancer results in death.
Many types of cancer are treatable when detected early on – breast cancer, lung cancer, colon cancer, prostate cancer, cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, testicular cancer and renal-kidney cancer, to name a few.
The American Cancer Society estimates that a total of 1,399,790 new cancer cases and 564,830 deaths from cancer are expected in the United States in 2006. In October 2005, HealthDay News announced that according to a new study, “Upwards of 12 percent of U.S. cancer patients are initially misdiagnosed…”
Misdiagnosis or failure to diagnosis cancer sometimes occurs because the doctor does not assign enough importance to the patient’s complaints or delays in referring the patient to specialists. Doctors may fail to do testing, including MRIs, PSA tests for prostate and mammograms. The radiologist may misread the test results, or the laboratory technician may err in evaluating the biopsy. Even when tests are done and evaluated correctly, the oncologist needs to recommend the proper treatment. Any number of failures is possible in the sequences of steps that should be followed according to the reasonable standard of care the medical profession sets for cancer patients.
An attorney with confirmed experience and expertise in litigating cancer cases can assist in determining whether you or a loved one has been the victim of misdiagnosis or the failure to diagnose cancer. At Ross Feller Casey, LLP, our attorneys have a proven track record in this area of practice. Some of the settlements achieved by Ross Feller Casey attorneys for cancer victims include:
- $5.5 million settlement for a woman as a result of the failure to diagnose cervical cancer
- $5.0 million settlement for a woman as a result of the failure to diagnose breast cancer
- $4.4 million settlement for a man as a result of the failure to diagnose lung cancer
- $2.4 million settlement for a man as a result of the failure to diagnose tongue cancer
- $2.075 million settlement for a woman who died as a result of delay in the diagnosis of cervical cancer
- $2.0 million settlement for a woman as a result of the failure to diagnose throat cancer
- $2.0 million settlement for woman as a result of the failure to diagnose uterine cancer
Contact our law firm to arrange a free case evaluation regarding your concerns about cancer diagnosis and treatment.
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