Cancer Misdiagnosis Malpractice

Because strokes in young people are relatively uncommon, health care providers are sometimes slow to recognize the signs and symptoms of stroke when the patient in front of them is younger than the “typical” stroke patient. For patients both young and old, but especially for otherwise healthy young people, unnecessary delays can lead to a lifetime of crippling disability, or death.

As with any medical malpractice lawsuit, the party claiming malpractice occurred is required to prove a cancer misdiagnosis. This means that the plaintiff is responsible for providing sufficient evidence that the defendant failed to properly diagnose the cancer. In order to do this, the plaintiff must prove some basic elements that establish a medical negligence lawsuit. For instance:

• There was a “doctor-patient” relationship
• The doctor acted negligently, which led to a cancer misdiagnosis
• The doctor’s neglectful cancer misdiagnosis caused harm to the patient
• The patient’s cancer misdiagnosis harm resulted in damages that affected them and/or their loved ones

So what do each of these terms mean? We’re happy to explain:

Just because a person walks into a doctor’s office does not mean there was an established Doctor-Patient relationship. Additionally, even if a person was seen by a physician in the past, doesn’t mean that they still have an ongoing relationship. It is important to establish that this person was an ongoing and current client of the physician who made the incorrect diagnosis.

It must be shown that the doctor could, and should have made the proper diagnosis given the information and test results they had. Proving this usually takes the work of experts in the field who can see the right diagnosis. You’re lawyer will hire these experts and show that the standard of care that you should have expected wasn’t not met.

Once it has been established that your doctor was negligent, and that you had an ongoing doctor-patient relationship, your lawyer will also need to show that you were materially harmed. This means that there were damages that can be classified in one of the following ways. As economic, non-economic, and/or punitive.

Damages May Include:

• Lost wages due to missed work
• Lost earning capacity due to disability
• Pain and suffering
• Additional medical bills, past and present
• Loss of quality or enjoyment of life
• Loss of consortium, or loss of companionship

When a medical malpractice lawsuit for cancer misdiagnosis is filed, the plaintiff and their attorney must be able to prove that that negligence occurred. This important step in the legal process is achieved by proving the doctor failed to do one of the following:

• Failed to identify symptoms that were reasonably apparent and should have lead to follow-up testing
• Did not use proper protocols and procedures when conducting cancer testing which lead to errors in test results
• Failed to order appropriate testing despite the presence of symptoms that would lead another doctor to order them.
• Disregarded lab recommendations to conduct additional tests based on results
• The testing laboratory failed to identify or analyze abnormal cell activity, such as abnormal growths in tissue biopsies

If you or a loved one were misdiagnosed by their oncologist or other physician, then the attorneys of Paul Knopf Bigger Law Firm are here to assist you. We have many combined years of experience in handling medical malpractice cases. We know what it takes to discover the truth behind the results you received and how you should proceed. Contact us today.