We look to healthcare professionals to guard, maintain, and monitor our health and well-being. When doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals provide inadequate attention to important details, it could result in something extremely detrimental to our health, such as a cancer misdiagnosis.
Patients need thorough examinations, one on one consultations, and careful attention when dealing with illnesses and ailments worse than the common cold. It is vital that doctors listen to all information provided by a patient, order any and all testing that should be done, read test results with accuracy, and follow up with patients to ensure a comprehensive plan to correctly diagnose and treat a problem.
When a healthcare provider fails to adequately diagnose cancer or provides a misdiagnosis of it, the resulting consequences may go beyond typical injuries or sickness. As cancer can be a race against the clock, any delay in identifying and treating the issue at hand could result in a deadly outcome.
There are a few different forms of cancer misdiagnosis that could happen:
- Failure to diagnose cancer – Cancer was not detected through testing, screenings, and symptoms.
- The wrong diagnosis of cancer- A patient is told they have a specific type of cancer that they, in fact, do not have.
- Misclassified Cancer – A patient is diagnosed with a specific type of cancer; however, they have a different type of cancer.
When a healthcare provider fails to properly provide the correct cancer diagnosis, the damage can result in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the patient or a party representing the patient. Cancer patients often have to undergo some of the most trying and painful treatments that result in serious injury and sickness. If a patient is misdiagnosed, their physical, mental, and emotional suffering deserve just compensation through a malpractice claim.
In order to file a claim against a healthcare professional for cancer misdiagnosis, the patient needs to be able to prove injury from the diagnosis. In most cases, this is easy as most cancer treatments are heavily documented. It also must be proven that this misdiagnosis was directly due to the healthcare providers negligence. If it is due to malfunctioning equipment or another circumstance out of their control, the liability may shift to someone else.
A misdiagnosed cancer patient can experience a staggering amount of damages that include but are not limited to:
- Medical Expenses
- Lost Wages
- Disability
- Pain and Suffering
- Rehabilitation/Therapy
- Life Alerting Injury
If you or a loved one has experienced negligence in the form of the misdiagnosis of cancer, or any other medical malpractice you feel you have undergone, contact Potter Law, LLC today. Our legal team understands the importance of standing by your side and confidently representing individuals throughout the state of Maryland and Washington, DC.