CANCER MISDIAGNOSIS
Damages resulting from physician error happen more often and can be more extensive than many realize. While doctors' improper diagnoses are seldom intentional, their lack of intent provides little comfort to those confronted with a life-altering judgment of cancer. Misdiagnosed patients are often subjected to unnecessary, harmful, painful and expensive treatments. Untreated cancer can kill, and innocent mistakes can cause curable cancers to remain untreated and dangerous. A cancer misdiagnosis also has the potential to cause victims to develop other physical and psychological conditions that require future treatment - contributing to financial hardship and severely inhibiting the victims' ability to sustain meaningful employment.
Cancer misdiagnosis can most frequently be attributed to:
· A cancerous (or malignant) tumor is identified as non-cancerous (or benign).
· A cancerous lesion is missed in the biopsy procedure.
· Failure to refer a patient to a specialist for further testing.
· A malignant tumor is misclassified as to type or misgraded as to aggressiveness.
· Specimens are mishandled by pathology, or improperly read or interpreted.
· Failure to follow up with a patient if cancer should have been suspected.
· Failure to adequately screen for increased risk patients (age/ethnicity/family or personal history/gender).
· Failure to understand or notice the nature of a patient's complaints.
Labels: injury, malpractice
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