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New York Failure To Diagnose Cancer Attorneys

Albany and Saratoga Springs Missed or Delayed Cancer Diagnosis Lawyers

Nearly everyone has been impacted in one way or another by a cancer diagnosis.  Whether it's you, a family member, friend or loved one, cancer has prevailed as a word that we all fear.

Receiving a diagnosis of cancer is horrific, and it brings all sorts of doubts, questions and uncertainty.  But often there's hope.  Medical research has led to an increase in early detection, and many times cancer that is discovered early is able to be effectively treated.

But sometimes an early diagnosis does not happen.  Sometimes doctors miss something. Synovial sarcomas, for example.  

And this is not because they are malicious, it is because they are human, and they make mistakes.  But the law protects victims when those mistakes happen.

Sometimes Doctors Miss Something

Doctors and hospitals carry medical malpractice insurance because mistakes happen.  In cases involving a delayed cancer diagnosis these mistakes often take the form of the simple failure to pay attention to a patient complaint.

We've all been at the doctors office, waiting for what seems like forever, only to have a doctor or nurse rush in and, half paying attention, ask us about what's wrong.  And many of us have seen what happens when we make suggestions that the doctor had not considered – they are very often dismissive.

Cancer diagnoses are missed when doctors fail to see something that is in front of them, whether because they don't know or because they simply had something else in mind.  What a doctor thinks is a cyst in the knee could be a malignant sarcoma, but unless the doctor performs the appropriate tests this cannot be confirmed.  If the doctor is simply convinced that the growth is a cyst, he or she might not perform a fine needle biopsy which could confirm whether the mass was cancerous.

We have seen these types of misdiagnoses in action.  We know the pain of sitting across from someone who has just been told that the lump that they had been asking the doctor about for two years is in fact cancer, and has spread to the lungs.

Nothing can unring the bell of a missed cancer diagnosis.  At that point the patient has to take care of herself and get the best available treatment.  But the civil legal system does provide some recourse in the case of a missed cancer diagnosis.  It allows for the victim or her family to recover damages from the doctor's insurance company.

What damages are available for a missed cancer diagnosis?

When a cancer diagnosis is missed it often results in the need to extensive medical treatment, and can unfortunately result in death.  When a victim or family member ultimately brings a suit for a missed diagnosis the damages include:

Emotional distress suffered by the victim;

Pain and suffering from the date of the missed diagnosis;

Damages for any economic loss sustained by the victim or her family as a result of the missed diagnosis;

Damages for loss of household services and parental guidance by the victim's family.

A delayed or missed cancer diagnosis can be devastating on a family.  If this has happened to you give us a call.  We know and appreciate the sensitive nature of this type of situation, and we know the steps that must be taken to ensure that the victim or the victim's family is protected.

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