Cancer is unfortunately common, and many people may know someone who has been directly affected. Thankfully, cancer survival rates have significantly improved in the United States in the past three decades, partially due to early detection and screening that allow doctors to diagnose cancer sooner. However, life expectancy can decrease dramatically the longer cancer goes undetected, which is why a cancer misdiagnosis or late diagnosis can effectively be a death sentence. In contrast, a false positive misdiagnosis can result in unnecessary, painful, and intrusive medical care.
If you or a loved one has been the victim of a cancer misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis, contact the attorneys from Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C. We can help you pursue a medical malpractice claim to fight for financial compensation for medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other losses you incurred due to your doctor’s failure to diagnose cancer correctly. Contact us today to speak to a Philadelphia cancer misdiagnosis attorney during a free case evaluation.
Understanding Cancer Misdiagnosis and Its Impact
A cancer misdiagnosis can mean several things, depending on the nature of the error:
- A missed diagnosis occurs when a doctor or healthcare provider fails to notice common signs or symptoms of cancer and fails to make a diagnosis.
- A delayed cancer diagnosis is when the medical professional misses initial signs and makes a diagnosis too late after the cancer has progressed in severity.
- An incorrect diagnosis is when a medical provider diagnoses a patient with the wrong type of cancer or says they have cancer when they do not.
Regardless of the type, a cancer misdiagnosis can have life-altering consequences. With a missed cancer diagnosis or delayed treatment, the disease can progress to a point where medical treatment options are less available and survival rates are lower. An incorrect diagnosis can result in painful and ineffective treatment that may cause other medical complications.
Why You Need a Philadelphia Cancer Misdiagnosis Attorney
Medical malpractice law is complex and requires a thorough grasp of both law and medicine. Medical malpractice attorneys have experience working at this intersection and understand how to contextualize malpractice claims in light of recent medical care standards and techniques.
The Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys from Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C. have extensive experience pursuing medical malpractice claims for missed and incorrect diagnoses. We have successfully overseen several cancer misdiagnosis claims, including one $11 million verdict for a misdiagnosed brain tumor. We also settled a case for multi-million dollars for a client incorrectly diagnosed with spinal cancer, resulting in him being paralyzed for life. We can gather the necessary medical records and collaborate with medical expert witnesses to determine whether your doctor breached the accepted standards of care.
We approach every case with litigation in mind and will do everything in our power to achieve a satisfactory resolution. Our goal is to secure fair compensation for the full extent of your losses, so you and your family can focus on healing and moving forward.
Our failure to diagnose cancer lawyers understand the harm caused by medical negligence. We fight zealously to obtain the justice and compensation your family deserves. Contact our personal injury and medical malpractice law firm today if you want to pursue legal action against the healthcare professional who caused your delayed or missed diagnosis of a life-threatening disease.
Commonly Misdiagnosed Cancers
There are hundreds of different types of cancer, many of which share symptoms with other, more common diseases. Below are some of the most common types of cancers that are misdiagnosed:
- Lung Cancer – Lung cancers can go undetected because they often produce symptoms similar to those of respiratory illnesses, such as cough, voice changes, and difficulty breathing. They can also be misdiagnosed by misreading X-rays.
- Colorectal Cancer – According to a study whose findings were published in 2022, colorectal cancer is the most misdiagnosed type of cancer. Many symptoms of colon cancer are confused with other GI and bowel diseases.
- Breast Cancer – Breast cancers are commonly misdiagnosed as doctors fail to order mammograms, misread mammograms, or miss pre-cancerous cell formations during evaluations.
- Prostate Cancer – Health professionals can misdiagnose prostate cancers by confusing symptoms of other diseases, such as prostatitis, for cancerous growth.
- Skin Cancer – Doctors might confuse some types of skin cancer with other harmful or benign skin conditions, such as eczema, hyperplasia, or angiomas.
Other cancers can be misdiagnosed, too, such as cervical cancer, ovarian cancer, testicular cancer, kidney cancer, and pancreatic cancer.
Common Reasons Cancer Is Misdiagnosed
A significant number of cancer misdiagnoses result from negligence or wrongdoing by doctors, hospitals, and other medical professionals or facilities. In medical malpractice cases, cancer misdiagnosis occurs for many of the following reasons:
- Human Error – Cancer misdiagnoses often occur due to errors from individual medical professionals, such as physicians and radiologists. For example, a physician might miss obvious cancer symptoms and fail to diagnose or make a late diagnosis.
- Faulty Tests – Physicians rely heavily on imaging results (e.g., X-rays, MRIs, etc.) and lab tests to detect cancer. Errors in reading those X-rays and in the testing procedures can lead to inaccurate results, ultimately resulting in a misdiagnosis.
- Inadequate Evaluation – Medical professionals might also misdiagnose patients because they don’t properly evaluate their condition or assess their medical history. For example, a doctor might dismiss a patient’s complaints of headaches and fail to diagnose a brain tumor or fail to follow up on abnormal test results.
When a medical professional fails to timely diagnose cancer, you miss the chance of availing yourself of diagnostic tests so the cancer is detected early without the need for more aggressive treatment. Your survival odds may also be drastically cut. If you or your loved one has found themselves in this dire situation, contact our Philadelphia cancer misdiagnosis lawyers to demand justice through a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Proving Medical Malpractice in a Cancer Misdiagnosis Case
In order to make a successful medical malpractice claim for a cancer misdiagnosis, you must prove three key elements:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed, and the physician/medical professional had a duty of care to you.
- The medical professional negligently violated accepted standards of medical care.
- The violation caused you actual harm.
The key elements of a medical malpractice case are proving that the medical professional violated the accepted standard of care and that violation was the cause of your injuries. Essentially, you must demonstrate that a reasonable physician in the same position, given the same evidence, would have made a correct diagnosis of cancer and that the treatment would have resulted in less injury and a better prognosis.
For this reason, expert testimony plays a vital role in medical malpractice cases. A cancer diagnosis error lawyer can use testimony from medical experts to determine whether or not your doctor fell short of the required threshold of medical care.
Contact Our Experienced Philadelphia Medical Malpractice Attorneys for a Free Consultation
If you or a loved one has suffered harm due to a cancer misdiagnosis, it’s essential to speak to an attorney as quickly as possible. Under Pennsylvania law, you only have two years from the date you discovered the malpractice to file a lawsuit. Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C. is here for life’s toughest trials and can fight to secure fair compensation. Medical professionals should be held accountable when they negligently cause harm to patients. We can work to secure justice on your behalf.
Contact our offices online or call today for a case consultation with a cancer misdiagnosis lawyer in Philadelphia. Consultations are free, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by getting in touch.
BUSINESS INFORMATION
Eisenberg, Rothweiler, Winkler, Eisenberg, & Jeck, P.C.
1634 Spruce St, Philadelphia, PA, 19103
Phone: (215) 585-2814
Email: info@erlegal.com
