If diagnosed and treated properly, cancer patients have a high survival rate. Without prompt diagnosis and treatment, however, a patient’s cancer can progress and become deadly.
Cancer Misdiagnosis: Medical Malpractice Lawyers RI
If medical personnel misdiagnose or delay diagnosing cancer because they failed to follow established protocol for testing patients, follow up on test results or communicate information effectively, they can and should be held liable for their negligence.
Contact Gemma Law Associates: Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorneys
If you or a loved one experienced a missed, delayed or incorrect diagnosis of cancer, the Rhode Island medical malpractice lawyers of Gemma Law Associates, Inc., can examine your case and advise you about pursuing a legal claim.
How Does a Cancer Misdiagnosis Occur?
Tests and diagnostic tools are available to detect early cancer symptoms. Hospitals have protocols for testing patients who exhibit certain symptoms and for providing treatment based on test results. Patients’ cancer should be detected in almost all cases, and the patient should be promptly advised of their treatment options.
In most cases of cancer misdiagnosis, the patient’s cancer treatment is delayed. The delay can cause the disease to advance. It may result in a premature death.
A misdiagnosis of cancer can also take the form of an incorrect diagnosis. The patient may undergo unnecessary and harmful invasive treatment such as surgery. The patient may suffer both physical and emotional harm.
If you suspect that a medical professional improperly diagnosed or missed cancer in your case, Gemma Law Associates, Inc., can help you to obtain your medical records and have them reviewed by our medical consultants. There may be indicators that your physician or caregiver provided substandard care that caused diagnosis of your cancer to be missed or delayed.
Your medical records might show evidence of:
- A doctor failing to order tests or follow up on test results.
- A physician’s assistant or nurse failing to obtain a complete medical history, which could have alerted a physician to signs of cancer.
- A dermatologist failing to order tests of irregular moles for skin cancer.
- A dentist missing or failing to advise a patient of signs of mouth cancer.
- A radiologist misreading a mammogram.
- A pathologist misreading the results of a biopsy.
- Mishandling of lab samples, including contamination of biopsied tissue.
- A lab’s failure to accurately or promptly report test results.
- Wrong test results or results for the wrong patient being reported.
- Failure to promptly refer you to a specialist for treatment.
Who is Responsible for a Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Many different medical care providers may be responsible for misdiagnosed cancer, including:
- Primary care physicians
- Physicians’ assistants
- Nurses
- Radiologists
- Pathologists
- Dentists
- Dermatologists
In some cases, a hospital, medical center or clinic may be liable for missed or delayed cancer diagnosis if its protocol was inadequate or out of date, or if it can be shown that a repeated failure to follow protocol was recognized but not corrected.
Legal Steps: Contact Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorneys
If you have been harmed by a cancer misdiagnosis, you have the right to pursue a malpractice claim against the medical care provider involved with your case. A medical malpractice lawsuit can help you to obtain compensation for your pain and suffering as well as for your financial losses.
However, medical malpractice lawsuits can be complex. It takes time to develop the case. Rhode Island places strict time limits on filing medical malpractice claims, so it’s important to act immediately if you have been seriously injured or have lost a loved one because of a missed cancer diagnosis.
A medical malpractice claim based on a cancer misdiagnosis would seek compensation for the patient’s losses, including medical expenses, lost income, pain and suffering and emotional distress.
Many lawsuits can be settled without going to court. A settlement allows you to put the legal aspects of the case behind you sooner and get on with your life. A settlement also requires you, the plaintiff, to give up the right to any further legal claims against the defendants. You may settle a case at any time, even during trial, up until the jury returns its verdict.
Our Rhode Island Medical Malpractice Lawyers Can Review Your Cancer Misdiagnosis
If you or a loved one has gone through the ordeal of a missed or delayed cancer diagnosis, you should discuss your case with an experienced medical malpractice lawyer from Gemma Law Associates, Inc. We provide free initial consultations.
Contact us today to learn more.
