A cancer misdiagnosis may occur in one of two ways: You could be told you have the condition, only to find out that such a determination was false, or a medical provider might claim your symptoms are the result of another condition when, in reality, they are signs of cancer. In either case, these errors are very serious and can easily turn your life upside down in little time. Some of them, in fact, are legally actionable.
Not all harm that you suffer when you get medical care is considered malpractice, though, so whether you can file a cancer misdiagnosis lawsuit can be tough to determine. With that in mind, the following information will detail the losses that these types of errors can cause and whether you may be able to begin a legal claim against the liable parties.
Why a Cancer Misdiagnosis Is Dangerous
A cancer misdiagnosis is such a dangerous mistake for a medical professional to make because it can significantly impact your well-being in the following ways:
It Allows the Illness to Progress
Cancer, as a disease that progresses through many stages, is easiest to treat when it is at its earliest phase, particularly before it has metastasized, or spread to another part of the body. If your medical provider doesn’t start treatment immediately, or if they begin an inappropriate care regimen, the disease can progress, becoming far more difficult (if not impossible) to treat.
It Can Result in Unnecessary Treatments
If your doctor misdiagnoses you with cancer, you may end up receiving chemotherapy or radiation therapy. While these are critical treatments for targeting and removing cancerous cells, they can be incredibly harmful to healthy ones. If you don’t have cancer, these unnecessary treatments can leave you with a range of new or worsened health issues and exorbitant medical bills.
In the opposite situation, if you do have cancer but your doctor misdiagnoses it as something else, you may receive treatments you don’t need while missing out on the ones that could save your life.
It Reduces Your Treatment Options
As discussed above, failing to receive a timely and accurate cancer diagnosis makes the disease harder to treat. In turn, you may not be able to receive the least invasive treatments and could require surgery instead. And in the most severe cases, there may not be any treatments available to help.
How a Cancer Misdiagnosis Can Occur
A cancer misdiagnosis often occurs because of a failure to recognize the illness’s symptoms. Some conditions present with similar signs to cancer, especially in their early stages, so it is up to the provider to perform the appropriate diagnostic tests. If they don’t order biopsies, imaging studies, or blood tests, that could lead to a patient’s cancer going undiagnosed.
But even if the provider does order the necessary tests, they may not interpret the results correctly, potentially leading to false negatives or a completely inaccurate diagnosis. Another potential error is not referring you to an oncologist for further assessment if there is any doubt that the condition may be cancer.
Additionally, the provider could fail to follow up to see if symptoms improve, worsen, or change. Sometimes, even a slight variation in symptoms provides the information a professional needs to make an exact diagnosis.
Can You File a Lawsuit After a Cancer Misdiagnosis?
Medical malpractice does not apply to every potential harm you may suffer when receiving care. In order to successfully file a lawsuit, you must demonstrate that another professional would not have made the error that led to your misdiagnosis. Unlike other personal injury claims, which only require that you prove that the defendant did not meet the reasonable person standard, medical negligence claims go further. You will need testimonies from expert witnesses who can state that the misdiagnosis could have been avoided.
Suffice it to say, medical negligence is a complex thing to prove. As such, you’ll need to hire an experienced medical misdiagnosis attorney who knows which types of evidence can make a difference in these cases. With legal help, you can pursue a claim to cover all of your losses.
FAQ
Is There a Statute of Limitations for Medical Malpractice Claims?
In most cases, you will have one year to begin your case. Usually, though, you will only realize you suffered an injury months after the error occurs. Thus, the statute of limitations in Ohio allows the timeline to begin when you discover or should have discovered the harm you suffered from your misdiagnosis.
Can I Receive Compensation for Missed Work Days?
If you had to miss work while getting treatment (or because of your condition, in general), you may be entitled to recover your lost wages, be they salaries, commissions, or benefits, as well as any other losses you would not have suffered had the error not occurred.
How Much Is My Cancer Misdiagnosis Lawsuit Worth?
The amount you may be able to receive will depend on factors such as the severity of the harm you suffered, how your losses impact your quality of life, and whether you will heal; every case is unique.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Ohio
If you have suffered losses because of medical malpractice in the form of a cancer misdiagnosis, you may be entitled to begin a claim. However, because these are complex cases and require testimonies from expert witnesses, pursuing them requires hiring a personal injury attorney with extensive experience.
At The Moore Law Firm, our team of attorneys can help. We have assisted people through complex medical misdiagnosis cases, and we have the contacts necessary to put together a strong claim. Don’t wait any longer to fight for your rights. Contact our team to speak with one of our lawyers today.
If you have been injured or have lost a loved one as a result of another person's negligence, you deserve to be fully compensated for your losses. The simple fact is that you should not be forced to pay the price for another person's careless or reckless actions.