Handling the Aftermath of a Cancer Misdiagnosis
Posted on January 17, 2024 in Medical Malpractice
Receiving a cancer diagnosis is life-changing. A misdiagnosis related to cancer can be even more devastating.
There are various reasons why a person may receive a cancer misdiagnosis. Sometimes, a misdiagnosis occurs due to the negligent actions of a medical provider. Here, we want to discuss the process of handling this situation as well as whether or not you may need an attorney for a failure to diagnose cancer lawsuit in Portland.
Why Cancer Misdiagnoses Occur
Aggregated studies indicate that misdiagnoses are much more common than most people realize, particularly cancer misdiagnosis. One study shows that cancer (all types included) has an 11.1% diagnostic error rate.
A cancer misdiagnosis can occur due to a variety of reasons, and not every cancer misdiagnosis is necessarily a medical malpractice. We want to be completely honest and say that some cancers are particularly hard to diagnose, much harder than others. Some forms of the disease are rare and, as a result, less attention is paid to them. This makes it more likely that a misdiagnosis will occur when the cancer does arise in a patient.
Other times, the signs and symptoms of cancer are indicative of other types of ailments a person could experience, leading to treatment for other possible illnesses and not the underlying cancer. However, there are times when a cancer misdiagnosis does occur as a result of medical malpractice. This can include the following:
- Failure to run proper diagnostic testing
- Failure to follow up with a patient for additional treatment or testing
- Failure to acknowledge a patient’s symptoms
- Inexperienced medical professionals involved in treatment or testing
- Overworked medical facility or staff preventing quality medical care
Who is Responsible for a Cancer Misdiagnosis?
As we mentioned above, not every cancer misdiagnosis is the result of medical professional malpractice. However, in situations where medical malpractice is suspected, there could be a few liable parties. We encourage you to reach out to a medical malpractice lawyer immediately who can assist you with this process. Some of the possible liable parties for a cancer misdiagnosis include:
- A primary care physician
- An oncologist
- A radiologist
- Surgeons
- Other medical providers directly involved in patient care
- The medical facility where the patient received treatment or a diagnosis (or a lack of treatment and diagnosis)
Determining negligence for a medical malpractice claim is challenging and involves showing that the medical professional(s) involved failed to uphold an adequate medical standard of care for the patient in question.
Do You Need Help From an Attorney?
We strongly encourage any person who has received a cancer misdiagnosis to reach out to an attorney as soon as possible. A skilled Portland medical malpractice lawyer can analyze the facts of your case and help you determine your best steps moving forward. If your claim is successful against an alleged negligent medical provider, you may be entitled to various types of compensation for your losses. This includes, but is not limited to, coverage of medical expenses arising as a result of the misdiagnosis, coverage of physical and emotional pain and suffering damages, lost income, and more.
We encourage you to contact an attorney as soon as possible so as not to miss any filing deadlines established through the medical malpractice statute of limitations in your state.