Cancer Misdiagnosis
Improper Diagnosis and Failure to Diagnose Cancer
While all misdiagnoses have the potential for serious medical consequences, a cancer misdiagnosis is perhaps the single most devastating error that you can experience as a patient. Many forms of cancer can progress quickly, and a delayed diagnosis can limit the treatment options available while also potentially reducing a patient’s chance of survival.
If you believe that a physician may have misdiagnosed your cancer, or if a loved one has succumbed to cancer as a result of improper or inadequate treatment, it is important that you speak with an attorney. A cancer misdiagnosis is a life-altering – and potentially life-threatening – experience; and, along with unmanageable medical bills, it can also lead to long-term loss of income, emotional trauma, pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and loss of enjoyment of life. You do not deserve to struggle through the consequences of a misdiagnosis. Our medical malpractice attorneys can help you, and we encourage you to contact us 24/7 for a free case evaluation.
What is a Cancer Misdiagnosis?
When can you pursue a medical malpractice claim for misdiagnosed cancer? There are three primary forms of cancer misdiagnosis:
1. Improper Diagnosis
In many cases, a doctor will misdiagnose a patient’s cancer as another medical condition. This type of misdiagnosis is dangerous not only because it results in the patient’s cancer going untreated, but also because it results in the patient receiving unnecessary treatment for a condition he or she does not have. Most improper diagnoses are specific to the patient’s type of cancer. For example, lung cancer will often be misdiagnosed as asthma or tuberculosis, and pancreatic cancer may be misdiagnosed as gallstones or pancreatitis.
2. Failure to Diagnose
With a failure to diagnose, the patient’s physician never identifies his or her cancer. Rather than making an improper diagnosis, the physician simply makes no diagnosis at all. This form of medical malpractice is of particular concern for patients who visit the emergency room or see a family medicine practitioner, as non-specialist providers will often dismiss patients’ reported cancer symptoms as minor or temporary conditions.
3. Delayed Diagnosis
A third form of cancer misdiagnosis is delayed diagnosis. If your doctor initially dismissed your symptoms or diagnosed you with a different condition, the resultant delay in treatment could have had a substantial negative impact on your health and long-term prognosis. While a delayed diagnosis may be better than no diagnosis at all, (i) this is not always the case, and (ii) the physical, emotional and financial costs of a delayed cancer diagnosis can be too much to bear.
Tampa Medical Malpractice Attorneys for All Types of Cancer Misdiagnosis
With an average of over 35 years of experience representing patients and their families, our attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in compensation for cancer misdiagnoses and other forms of medical malpractice. We represent clients throughout Florida in cases involving misdiagnosis of:
- Breast cancer
- Colorectal cancer
- Leukemia
- Lung cancer
- Lymphoma
- Pancreatic cancer
- Prostate cancer
- Sarcoma
- Skin cancer
- Other rare and potentially life-threatening forms of cancer
Speak With a Medical Malpractice Attorney for Free
If you would like more information about filing a medical malpractice claim for cancer misdiagnosis, please contact our Tampa law offices to schedule your free case evaluation. You can reach us by phone at 813-222-0977, or tell us how to reach you online and we will be in touch as soon as possible.
